Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 39

1 SECTION ID Woods superb D5 Hie Stats Page D6-7 Weather D8 twcaaaifty boo flan Sffimtm EDITOR: JOHN MacKINNON, 429-5303; sportsthejournal.southam.ca EDMONTON JOURNAL FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2000 11 11 1 111 1 1 wwj-f-wwi ma ii 1 ulimi. m. i i in. i OVERTIME 5 3 Mwur. I 1 Blues' Pronger edges Pens' Jagr for MVP Toronto Chris Pronger walked away with the Hart Trophy on Thursday night after edging Pittsburgh's Jaromir Jagr by one point in the dosest-ever balloting for the 76-year-old award given to the NHL's most valuable player.

The St. Louis Blues captain, who minutes earlier had won the Norris Trophy, became the first defenceman since Bobby Orr in 1972 to win the Hart Pronger got 396 points while league scoring champion Jagr, the Pittsburgh star who won last year, had 395 in balloting by members ofthe Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The other award winners included: New Jersey centre Scott Gomez, who got the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. I Detroit centre Steve Yzer-man, handed the Selke Trophy as outstanding defensive forward. I St.

Louis forward Pavol Demitra, given the Lady Byng Trophy as most gendemanly player. I The Blues' Joel Quenneville, who got the Jack Adams Award as outstanding coach. I Washington's Olaf Kolzig, handed the Vezina Trophy as outstanding goaltender. I Toronto goalie Curtis Joseph, who earned the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for humanitarianism. I New Jersey defenceman Ken Daneyko, who brought home the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

For complete stories D3 Perry Parker of Dana Point, vi I- (ft shoots out of the woods during first-round play on Friday morning in the Telus Edmonton Open at the Derrick Golf Americans hold one-stroke lead TELUS LEADERBOARD Hendley, Rutledge a shot behind after Round 1 in Telus CURTIS STOCK Journal Staff Writer EDMONTON The wind howled. A steady drizzle dripped from the skies like anmningnose. Cold enough for several players to wear tuques; the greens and fairways felt like water beds. And Perry Parker smiled. Aself-professed grinder, Parker had the worst of Thursday's opening draw of the $150,000 Telus Edmonton Open the really blustery morning section but still tookashare of the lead with Patrick Moore, who got to play in the calmer and drier afternoon draw.

"I've been doing this for 12 years. I just try and play one shot at a time," said Parker, after opening with a 5-under par 66. "That's the attitude you have to have in tough conditions. If you get flustered and try to do too much, you are going to make some bogeys. Or higher.

i 'it. JOHN LUCAS. THE JOURNAL Winter Club. He too could have been much lower. But his putter wasn't co-operating either.

Only 16 players broke par. Notable others included: defending champion Ray Stewart, 70; Brian Kbntak, even; Dave Barr, 72; Rob McMillan, 77, and Ken Duke, 78. The top local golfer was Sherwood Park's Mike Belbin. After having it to four under after 10 holes, Belbin finished at one over, 72. "My score doesn't show how I played," said Belbin.

"I should have been 69 at worst. But a couple of stupid mistakes and before you know it, it's bogey, bogey, bogey." Calgary's Wes Martin was 70 while Calgary amateur Wes Heffernanwas72. Edmonton Riverside's Jay Asdes and Lewis Estates' assistant Rob Olson were at 75. Asked how low the scores could go if it ever warms up, Parker said, "The Par 5s are pretty reachable for us. If the weather was really nice and it was firm, I think you could see some guys shoot 63 out here." 1 Icndlcy loves the tough going D5 IAN SCOTT.

Till IOURNAI Jim Matheson on Thursday That's just great," said Cole. Matty is as well-liked around the NHL as he is well-read, and his phone no doubt rang into the night on Thursday with congratulatory calls from writers, coaches and hockey people across North America. Knowing Matty, he didn't let many of those writers off the line before they gave him a nugget or two for his Sunday Hockey World. E-mail Mark Spector at mspectorthejournaLsoutham.ca Writing easy choice for Matty D2 -fs3 Journals Matheson makes Hall of Fame A Canadian Tour rookie, Moore said, "We got lucky," referring to his afternoon time slot. "I think we had it a little easier than they did in the morning.

"It wasn't that bad. It was cold when I got out here but by the time we teed off it was probably 5-10 degrees warmer, which made it comfortable." Moore had six birdies against a lone bogey on No. 11 when he lost his tee shot to the right. A bogey is rare for Moore these days. Runner-up in the Telus Vancouver Open, the first tour event of the year, Moore had only three bogeys in those four rounds.

'Tm playing solid. I'm not doing anything stupid," said Moore, 30. "Not making bogeys is as good as making birdies." One of Moore's birdies, however, probably wouldn't have happened if the fairways weren't so wet. Given the conditions, all 156 players in the field were allowed to play under the lift, Clean and Place rules. Consequently, when Moore's huge tee shot on No.

10 flew into the middle of a tree "The one little tree that's out on that MaikSpector Sports Comment Then it's up at six for that 8 a.m. flight to Hartford. It might just be the best job in the world, but that doesn't make it an easy one, even though Matty has always made it read that way. The hockey beat is murder on your health no lark on your marriage, I will attest and when you cover the big beat in town like Matty has for 27 years, you open up the competitor's papers every morning with the fear that you'll get nailed with that big scoop. With all respect to the competition, Matty gave more than he ever got in that department.

Tve always marvelled at Matty's stamina," said Cam Cole, the former Journal columnist now with the National Post "Every time I get to the end of a Stanley Cup run, I feel like I never want to get on another plane, go to another arena, ride another bus, sleep in another hoteL "I always play well in bad weather," said Parker, who had five birdies and no bogeys. "I think it's because I slow my swing down and shorten up a little bit. Sometimes I have a tendency to swing a little quick. In the cold weather Ijust told myself to make nice, smooth swings. "Given the conditions, it's one ofthe best rounds I've ever had in my career.

I totally controlled the ball out there," said Parker, 35, a five-time winner on the Canadian Tour. 'It was tough because the wind was coming sideways and blowing really hard. "I was totting 5-irons from 160 yards where I would normally hit 8 or 7 iron." Despite that, the California golfer hit 16 greens. "Amazing," he said. Knowing what was in the forecast, Parker practised three-quarter knockdown shots all day on Wednesday.

It paid off. "I thought these conditions were some of the toughest I've played in. "Yet I had total control of my irons shots. My distance control was right on. And that's tough to do in the wind." known by his colleagues, will officially be inducted into the Hall at a ceremony in November.

Yes, it can become incestuous when one writes about a colleague from one's own paper. But what you need to know about Matty is that his standard the hockey coverage you've read for all these years is not the norm. Growing up in Edmonton, I used to think that everyone else in every other city read the same high quality of copy in the same copious daily servings as Matty has provided for 30 years. Frankly, that could not be farther from the truth. "Very simply it comes down to this: Matty goes the extra mile to do the job properly," said Fisher, who for 45 years has covered the Canadiens in Montreal.

"Certain guys do the job at a level that is above the others. This honour, as far as I am concerned, is long overdue." Much goes into covering an NHL team for 25 years that is invisible to those who open their door every morning to find the finished product lying on their doorstep. It's 25 years of filing your story at 1 1 :30 p.m., trying to find a cab at an abandoned Philadelphia Spectrum or Chicago Stadium long after the game has ended and the people have left, then finally getting to sleep at 2 a.m. Leaders after Round 1 of the Telus Edmonton Open at the Derrick Golf Winter Club on Thursday 1 66 (5 under): Perry Parker, Dana Point, and Patrick Moore, North Carolina 1 67: Stuart Hendley, Lacombe, and Jim Rutledge, Victoria, B.C. 1 68: Steven Alker, New Zealand fairway" he got a club-length relief.

From there he hit a cut 3-wood into the wind to 12 feet and two-putted for birdie. "If we weren't playing preferred rules, I wouldn't have had much of a shot at all," said Moore. One shot backof first are Stuart Hendley of Lacombe, and Jim Rudedge of Victoria, B.C. Hendley had four three-putts, the hardest to stomach coming on No. 8.

"Best shot I hit all day. A 5-iron to eight feet. Ran it by three feet and missed that one too. It was a very strange round." Rudedge, who holds the Canadian Tour record for most consecutive cuts made (44), had five birdies and one bogey. "Matty has done it for so long, and never seems to tire of it.

I guess that's why he reminds me of Red, and Frank. "There are a few of them around, and not many, to whom the game is as important as life itself. That's what always amazes me about Matty," Cole said. In the Oilers' glory days, Matheson worked every single game of an 80-game season plus most off-days, followed by a two-month plavof run without a day off. Add in the extra work of the special pull-out sections to open the playoffs, again for the Cup final, and once more after the Oilers won, and frankly it's amazing Matty, 51 now, has lived to tell the tale.

"He is a first-rate hockey writer, and in this country that means something," Orr said. The beat writer who pounds it out every day. That means something." Heck, if I'd have known I was learning from a Hall of Famer, I would have listened a little harder all these years. Tve always loved reading Matty's style. Really loved it," Cole said.

"And the more stuff I read in othe NHL dries where it is touch and go whether offside is spelled with an 's' on the end, the more I appreciate the depth Matty brings to the game. "My old roomie, in the Hall. Nichols chosen governor for Oilers edmonton The Edmonton Oilers have appointed Cal Nichols as governor of the NHL franchise, taking over from Jim Hole. Alternates will be GM Kevin Lowe and the investors group director Gordon Buchanan. Lakers' Bryant knows his value Indianapolis Hehasarecord contract with Sony, a videogames deal with Nintendo, and a huge shoe deal with Adidas.

No wonder Forbes magazine put Kobe Bryant, kid capitalist in an Armani suit, on its cover in March. If you saw Bryant take over Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday, you probably witnessed the final step of an ascendancy to international icon status at age 21. Coming off a sprained ankle that forced him to miss Game 3, Bryant hit big shot after big shot, carrying the Lakers past the Indiana Pacers after Los Angeles centre Shaquille O'Neal had fouled out. Game 5 is tonight. Right after Game 4, broadcast in 42 languages, NBC sports-caster Bill Walton shouted, "How valuable is Kobe Bryant?" Not a bad question.

At an age when Michael Jordan was a rookie, Bryant is already a polished player and an international marketing dynamo. His first name has become a brand. His $71-million Lakers contract and $8 million-a-year sneaker deal are just the beginning. TODAY TV SOCCER 110 a.m., TSN Euro 2000: Czech Republic vs. France 12:30 p.m., OUT Denmark vs.

Netherlands GOLF 1 1 p.m., NBC, TSN U.S. Open: Second round from Pebble Beach, Calif. 1 3 p.m., TSN More Round 2 BASEBALL 1 1 p.m., WGN Montreal Expos at Chicago Cubs 1 5 p.m., Sportsnet Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox BASKETBALL 7 p.m., CFRN, NBC NBA finals, Game S.Los Angeles Lakers at Indiana Pacers Scribe honoured for 30 years of writing well about hockey, including Oilers' Stanley Cup years If it could be put better than the way legendary Toronto sports writer Frank Orr so eloquently said it, one might try. But those Hall of Famers, they just haveaway with words, don't they? "Jimmy was sort like Jari Kurri. Nobody was better, for 200 feet of ice," Orr said cn Thursday, upon the inclusion of Journal hockey writer Jim Matheson into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"Whether it was an off-day notebook, a game story or a column, nobody was better than Jimmy. A high level, day in and day out, exacdy like Kurri gave you." That analogy perhaps perfectly describes why James Donald Matheson joined Orr, Red Fisher and the rest of hockey's greatest writers on Thursday as a recipient of the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award "in recognition of distinguished members of the newspaper profession whose words have brought honour to journalism and to hockey." Along with a couple of players and a builder, Matty, as he is.