Calgary Herald from Calgary, Alberta, Canada • 58

Sports SOCCER PLAYOFFS Blue Star encounters the perfect Storm Sounders next playoff opponent The Storm edged the host Orange County (Calif.) Blue Star 2-1 in Western Conference semi-final action at Santa Ana Stadium in front of 211 fans. "It was a hard-fought game," said Calgary captain Mark McKenna. "And, as is often the case, it wasn't the best soccer." In the earlier playoff game, the Seattle Sounders dumped the Denver Cougars 3-1. A crush of 50 folks witnessed that battle. So, tonight, the Calgarians meet their old Northwest Division foe, Seattle, in the conference championship.

At stake is a trip to Iowa next weekend for the PDL championship. "The first game tends to always be the toughest," said McKenna, the architect of the game-winning goaL "We're very confident always." In the regular season, the Storm prevailed in three of the four games against the Sounders, including the season-opening split at Foothills Park. "We've got a lot of respect for them," said McKenna, a gritty midfielder. "Even though we were 3-1 against them, the games were really tight" Not unlike Friday's tilt against the scrappy hosts. The clubs were scoreless for the bulk of the first half.

Storm midfielder Damir Jesic opened the scoring in the 33rd minute. But just a matter of minutes later, the Blue Star knotted the score by banging a penalty kick past goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld. The half ended in a stalemate. "But we felt lucky to be 1-1," said McKenna. "We didn't create much.

We didn't play very well." In the 68th minute, McKenna was awarded a penalty shot He made no mistake, his heroics propelling the1; highly touted Storm into today's sudden-death matchup. "In the second half, we were fitter" and stronger. We also hit a post," said McKenna. "We definitely deserved the win." Calgary, an 18-2 outfit during the regular season and the Northwest Division leader, is the No 1 seed at the final four tournament at Orange County. The Sounders, who finished behind SCOTT CRU1CKSHANK Calgary Herald The Calgary Storm overcame nerves and a pesky opponent Friday night to advance to today's the Premier Development Soccer League's conference final E4 CALGARY HERALD Saturday, July 28, 2001 Storm, entered the weekend as the wild card, tie No.

4 seed. DeVos on the Move RODEO Home's not sweet for Becker MORNING Briefing Sports Editor Contact To contact Calgary Herald sports editor Larry Wood, call 235-7578; associate sports editor John Down, call 235-8764; associate sports editor Mike Reimer, call 235-7376; sports department fax 235-7313 or e-mail (text only) at: sportstheherald.southam.ca Fun on the diamond tr- kJC 4 VAV" V. 1 1 fnfli J. 7.. Herald Archive, Associated Press Canada's Jason deVos celebrates one of his many international goals, and now he's celebrating even more, after he moved Friday from Dundee United of the Scottish Premier League to Wigan Athletic of the English Second Division.

Snake River has plenty of bite DWAYNE ERICKSON Calgary Herald MEDICINE HAT Thf MArlirMn Wat Qtamnprlp ic Marfv Becker's hometown rodeo and that's the one every cowboy wants to win. But, Becker, the 1998 Canadian champion calf roper, won't win it this year. rr 11 1 tie uea a rea can 9.0 seconas aur-. 1 1 seventh best heading into today's clos-; ing action. It questionable whether he'll even catch ioth and last money.

Becker did salvage part of the evening. He and Darren Shaw, the defending Canadian ralf rnninp rham- pion, posted tne tastest tune tne team roping, a 5.7-second effort, to take the lead in that event But, the team roping remains a secondary competition in Canada. It's the calf roping that gets all the attention. And for Becker to be lagging in that event is somewhat surprising. He could have been the leader here had he made a clean run.

But he had trouble flanking his calf and once he got the animal on the ground, he made a bobble before beginning his tie. "I might have been seven and change," the 28-year-old from nearby Manyberries said with a shrug. Oh, he was disappointed, but it was a mirror of his season. The premier calf roper in Canada the past six years had a good winter and decent spring and was among the top 15 in the world. But when the big money was on the line this month, he went cold.

Now, he's trying to play catchup. Going into this weekend, Becker was 14th in the Canadian standings with just over $10,000 to his credit the first time he's been outside the top 10 since he turned pro in 1993. The good news is he only has to make up about $1,000 to be back in contention for the final qualifying hole for the year-end Canadian championships. On the world stage, Becker is 22nd with just under $30,000 in prize money, about $5,000 off the 15-man bubble. His main priority now is to get.

i.i uA. UllligS UUVCll LdXC Ul UU LUC 11U111C11U11U "I'm going to come home next week after I finish my business at Cheyenne and I'll get it handled," he said confidently. "Bad things happened to me; over the July holiday weekend, a cou- pie of calves (kicked free) on me to win some money, but it'll come arnimH. Fm nnt worried. "Being outside the top 10 up here is wvnr ntnlrA vnA wtnA VkA ntKSil U4JL JJ.lfo IV lUIUVVf IVJVi U1UL U1UV11 tougher." Becker didn't do anything in the calf roping at Cheyenne, but he hooked up with world champion Fred Whitfield in the team roping and if they can tie one in a decent time todav.

they'll advance to Sunday's championship round. But that won't do anything for him; -in the calf roping standings; it'll just keep his banker happy. Becker, who has been calf roping's" regular-season money leader in-Canada five times in his eight years as a pro, doesn't like to make excuses. But it must be remembered that he lost his good horse, Turbo, in March one that was used to the short setups north of the border and could always be counted on to help get the job done. Turbo died from a combination of sickness and old age.

"I really miss him," said Becker. "He was just what I needed to win up here. I could always count on him." When Turbo died, he was forced to use bis 14-year-old sorrel Hurricane on both sides of the border. "I could always save this guy for the rodeos down south," said Becker. "A lot of the setups up here where the" calves don't get a long head start and things happen much quicker doat fit him.

But I guess were both going to have to bite the bullet and get it done." BEHIND THE CHUTES: The Medicine Hat Stampede paid tribute to' the late stock contractor Reg Kesler, killed in a highway accident in late May. Wife Liz was presented with a picture of Reg and his great bucking horse Moonshine Team roper Jim Handle of High River is out for the rest of the season, Randle, who hooked up with Don Depaoli two weeks ago, broke his leg and a couple of fingers earlier this week when he was bucked off while breaking and training a colt at home The Medicine Hat Stampede concludes today with a 130 performance. Several legends ofbaseballwillbe swinging their bats in aid of charity at Burns Stadium on Sunday at 2 p.m. Among them Ferguson Jenkins, Bert Campaneris, Bill (Spaceman) Lee, Ron Robinson, Jon Warden, Ivan MurreO and former NHLer Jimmy Mann. The Allstars Baseball Benefit will pit the legends against the Calgary Firefighters slow-pitch team and partial proceeds go to the Calgary Firefighters Burn Treatment Society.

For ticket information, call 531-6161 or 531-6176. To Do TODAY TRACK AND FIELD 8:30 a.m. Canadian junior championships, Foothills Athletic Park. BASEBALL 9 a.m. Pacific Northwest Regional Babe Ruth Prep championship, Optimist Park.

Other games at noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. 6 p.m. Little League junior Prairie playoff final Centennial vs. Calgary West, Lions Park, 5005 8th Ave.

S.Fl HORSE RACING 1 p.m. Stampede Park harness racing plus Edmonton simulcast thoroughbred-racing program with teletheatre wagering at Schanks Athletic Clubs and KC's AMSL SOCCER Noon. Women: Calgary Saints vs. Edmonton Angels, Shouldice Park. 4pjiL Men: Calgary Villains vs.

Edmonton Ital-Canadians, Broadview Park. AUTO RACING 7 p.m. Calgary Versatel 200 for CASCAR Western Super Series, plus street stocks and Baby Grands, at Race City Motorsport Park. Gates at 5 p.m. TVRadio TODAY GOLF 7 sun.

(Ch. 47) TNT Dutch Open, third round. 10:30 a.m. (Ch. 27) NHLPA Classic (tape).

a.m. (Ch. 12) Albertson's Northwest Team Championships (tape). 11:30 a.m. (Ch.

47) Buy.com Ozarks Open, third round. 12 pan. (Ch. 21) Giant Eagle LPGA Classic, second round. 2 p.m.

(Ch. 12) PGA John Deere Classic, third round. 2 p.m. (Ch. 7) Wayne Gretzky and Friends Invitational (tape).

4 p.m. (Ch. 5) MasterCard Senior British Open, third round. 4 p.m. (Ch.

34) State Farm Senior PGA Classic first round. BICYCLE RACING 7:30 a.m. (Ch. 44) Tour de France, Stage 19, Orleans to Evry. HORSE RACING 10:35 ajn (Ch.

3) Fort Erie Race Course. 12 p.m. (Ch. 27) Woodbine Race. 1 p.m.

(Ch. 12) Whitney Handicap. 2 p.m. (Ch. 27) Northlands Park.

VOLLEYBALL 0:30 a.m- (Ch. 6-9, 50) Men's World Championship Qualifier. WBNA BASKETBALL 11:30 a.m. (Ch. 16) New York Liberty at Houston Comets.

ARENA FOOTBALL 0:30 a jn. (Ch. 25) Quarter-final MLS Soccer 1:30 pan. (Ch. 5) All-Star Game.

AUTO RACING 1:30 pan. (Ch. 16) NASCAR BGN NAPA AutoCare 250. 4 pan. (Ch.

25) World of Outlaws Racing, Kings RoyaL BASEBALL 2 pan. (Ch. 6-9, 50; The Team 960) New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays. 2 pan. (Ch.

22) Colorado at LA. 5 pan. (Ch. 21, 40) Atlanta at Montreal EQUESTRIAN 7 pan. (Ch.

27) Trans-Canada Par-cours de Chasse. 8 pan. (Ch. 27) Grand Prix of the Golden Whip (tape). CFL FOOTBALL 8 pan.

(Ch. 21) Toronto Argonauts at Saskatchewan Roughriders. Ferguson Jenkins Reds fall short in showdown LAUREN MacGILLIVRAY Calgary Herald It was crystal clear to the Calgary Reds on Friday at the Pacific Northwest Babe Ruth baseball tournament at Optimist Field. Snake River, representing North Oregon, is one of the teams to beat. Reds manager Jesse Doenz predicted as much Thursday.

On Friday, the Snake River crew defeated his Reds 5-3. Before facing Snake River, the Reds easily blew past Whitefish, Mont, n-i and Cheyenne, Wyo 13-2. But Friday was a different story. "This is what was expected, as we move further into the week, it gets closer," said event chairman Rick was 4-0 and Vancouver, Wash. 3-0.

The tournament features two pools of five teams playing round robin draws. The top two teams in each pool advance to sudden-death semi-finals and final on Sunday (10 am, mm and 4 pm). The Reds play today at 6 p.m. against Vancouver. Selects faced Co-quitlam, B.C.

at 12 noon. In other games Friday, Coquitlam bowed to Port Angeles 10-8 and Whitefish thumped Cheyenne, Wyo, 12-2. Meanwhile, Jesse Sawyer pitched a no-hitter Thursday night to lead Calgary West Jays to the Prairie Little League baseball championship. The Jays walloped Calgary Centennials 7-0 in the final game. The Calgary team will compete for the Canadian championships at Vancouver, Aug.

4. The winner of that tournament will represent Canada in the 2001 Little League World Series at Williamsport, Penn. ROXSCORE Friday, Game 1 COLORADO SPRINGS CALGARY MINOR BASEBALL Wisby. "You've got good, better and best teams and these are two of the best" Reds lefthander Josh Pollard was chosen his team's MVP in the game is the only player in the Calgary league named to Team Alberta, heading to the Canada Cup in Melville, in mid-August. But he couldn't sufficiently muffle the Snake River batsmen who were rather testy after suffering a 10-7 defeat earlier in the day to Vancouver, Wash.

Snake River broke up a 2-2 tie in the third inning when Mike Lissman bounced a solo home run off the left-field scoreboard. Dustin Shaver made it 4-2 before the inning was complete. Snake River maintained the two-run lead through to the finish although the Reds threatened in the seventh with two hits but couldn't close the deal The Reds finished the day with a 2-1 record along with Snake River and the Calgary Selects. Port Angeles, Wash, PCL BASEBALL McGuire had a hit and played 12V3 innings at first base, the scorer at Sky Sox Stadium didn't even have him listed in the game's boxscore. Instead, all McGuire's statistics in Game 2 of this series went to B.J.

Waszgis who, at last peek, still was on the Cannons' disabled list Randall has faced Calgary twice this season, and his line is ugly. The 25-year-old pitcher from Goleta, Calif, is 0-2, with an eamed-run average that is almost off the charts (21.21) and he hasn't fooled the Cannons, who have taken him out behind the woodshed by barring .500 in 4V3 innings. Against the rest of the league, however, Randall has had some success 3-2, 3.31 and an OBA of .239. Molina shut down the Sky Sox through five innings and the only runs in his line came on a two-run homer by Butch Huskey, also in the first. Mark Roberts threw one scoreless inning to register his fourth save.

McGuire makes Sox sit up and take notice ab bi ab bi 4 13 0 Little, cf 4 0 2 0 2 12 1 10 0 Gulan, 3b 4 12 2 Encamacion. If 3 110 Castro, 3 0 0 0 Huskey, lb 3 2 2 2 McGuire, lb 4 112 Kieschnick. rf 3 0 0 0 Abbott, cf 4 0 0 0 Fasano.c 3 113 4 12 0 2 0 0 0 3 111 3 0 0 0 Molina, 3 0 0 0 Randall, 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Claplnski.ph 1 0 0 0 House, 0 0 0 0 Roberts, 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 Davis, 0 0 0 0 Kelly, ph 10 0 0 Totals 32 (U Totals 26 5 5 Calgary 400 002 Colorado Springs 200 003 -S COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. Calgary's Ryan McGuire has played in anonymity. Scott Randall the Colorado Springs right-hander, wishes official scorers in baseball's Pacific Coast League would extend him a similar courtesy in games against the Cannons.

McGuire crushed a home run to centre field in the first inning Friday night as Calgary defeated the Sky Sox 6-5 in the opener of a doubleheader. The Cannons won the nightcap 7-3 for their sixth win in eight games in the season's series against the Colorado Rockies' farm club. McGuire's homer was his third of the season, but the first in the 13th game on this, his second whirl with the Triple-A club. The blast followed a two-run double by Mike Gulan and staked Gabe Molina to a 4-0 lead. Thursday afternoon, though, when LOS-Catoary 9, Colorado Springs 3.

2b-Gulan (31), Mottola (20), Encamacion (9). HR-McGuire (3), Huskey (10), Fasano (9). SB-Mottola (9). GrUtfJe (U cr bb Calgary Molina (W3-6) 5 Mairena 1 Roberts (S.4) 1 Colorado Springs Randall (L.4-4) 41-3 Belitz 1-3 House 1-3 Davis 2 WP-Randall(l)T-224. Josue Espada had a game-high three hits for the Cannons.

Tonight, Calgary begins the second leg of its road trip, a four-game series against the Salt Lake City Stingers..