The Vancouver Sun from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • 73

SECTION Ei ft I1' folTOR GARY MASON 605-2395 FAX 605-2524 E-mail sunsportspacpress.southam.ca The Vancouver Sun FRIDAY NOVEMBER 5, 1999 FAMILY E6 SPQKTS Pavel Bure returns tolGM Place tonight MORNING BRIEFING Scores i Greg Moore surprised us in life and in death 3, NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE BACK HI Gar) Mason IAIN MacINTYRE VANCOUVER SUN I Etew Jersey 1 Boston 3 Pittsburgh 1 Ottawa 2 Montreal 1 N.Y. Islanders 2 Buffalo 5 Chicago 4' NBA Niami 86 Toronto 97 IhAiana 89 Charlotte 98 Milwaukee 119 Atlanta 109 g. State 81 Antonio 104 Philadelphia 80 Phoenix 84 Houston 82 Utah 98 Dallas 96 Seattle 106 It was the summer of 1991 and Greg Moore, buoyed by earning his driver's licence in just hi second try, was telling a reH porter how he was going off to? conquer motorsports. Greg at 16 looked like Ron at 12, which is to say a mature Opie. He was tall and fair-haired with wire-rimmed glasses possessed a whole some, innocent bearing and boyish enthusiasm that was in-' fectious.

But somehow the plan The former. Canuck super star deserves td be cheered by Vancouver fans 'in his first gamej here as a Panther. I '7)' "ye strode easily to thei podium, ottering knowing glance to re-4 porters he recognized. He sat down, pulled the waiting microphone closer, then rested" his arms on the table. 'Okay," said the media offi seemed incompatible with the person.

This skinny kid hoped to race Indy cars, to be the next Paul Tracy? vjTrue, he had been a champ on kart racer. But when that vehicle was brought out of the garage of his Maple Ridge home as proof, there was some confusion as to whether it was a side-bagger or a rear-bagger. You could barely picture Greg driving his dad's car to the mall, let alone pilot a race car against men at speeds where a mistake could be fatal As with his driver's licence, it took only two tries that summer to get his first victory. Greg Moore surprised us, in life and in death. His crash last Sunday in California seemed as much at odds with him as a driver as his lofty dreams only eight years earlier.

He was one of the best drivers cial. "Pavel is ready for questions." i 'Well," a reporter said, breaking a moment's silence. "How does it feel to be back?" "It feels good," Pavel Bure I began, in his familiar Russian lilt. "I spent seven years here. It was a big part of my life.

It IAN LINDSAYA'ancouver Sun HELLO VANCOUVER: Pavel Bure is back for his first game in GM Place as a Florida Panther. just brings back lots of good memories." "Do you expect to be booed tomorrow night?" I can control what the fans ternoon at GM Place. An awkward tango between Bure on one side, a suspicious media on the other, both trying to find common ground on the occasion of the former Canucks' first visit to town since an Pavel without his shirt on, you're no doubt hoping he's now fat and ugly and has lost allhishair. It's an understandable human emotion, But I've got bad hews. HERB PHILLIPS: Had a major lifestyle change at age 40.

do," said the Rocket "Any kind of emotion is great." i in Indy cars, but he was also one of the most restrained. He rarely tried to win races on the first lap, instead carefully as Why don you clear the air on why you unner trades Hi I want to look forward sessing the machine he had un- nouncing last year he Bure showed up for his news play here any morei inference, wearing tight black leather than, look back.iCT, der him that day, then pushing! were hoping he'd never score a goal again, well, you all know that hasn't happened. If anything, when he's been healthy Bure's production, on the ice, has increased with his new address. Off the ice, well, I'm sure it's increased too. Did I mention he lives in Mi-.

ami? 4 i.r To conclude: Pavel looks and sounds like someone having the time of his life. Since the trade, Bure's publicity machine has been in high gear. Mainly spewing stories that sight a litany of reasons for SEE MASON, E2 everything he could from it -nils martinislor The sight Sunday of his car Because some oi the things disintegrating as it struck an un Now many ot you are won- matching jacket and a dering how Pavelis doingiwhite Ricky More of you are vvondering jKMartin. Pavel lives in. Miami, how Pavel is looking.

remember. As for the rest of For those of you still feeling him, well, his lips are still ruby, jilted about the way Pavel left, his smile still perfect. He can nrotected concrete barrier is a running shoes that have been written about me that aren't true," the misun horrifying memory. ThanidMy.j i i i i i ii is iar oumumDerea Dy nappi- derstood one replied. "People putting words in my mouth that aren't true." still pass for 17, not 27.

erones. especially those of you who loved the sight of Pavel on the bench, Pavel in tight jeans, It's ridiculous, really. And for those of you who I will remember going for a SEE MEMORIAL, E3 And so it went Thursday af- Lacrosse legend Bionda dies 'Riders stumble in, "He would play rtszz Lions just need a win would be sore for The magician with a lacrosse stick played in seven Mann Cup finals. NEIL DAVIDSON CANADIAN PRESS weeks," said his daughter Joce-lyn Knox. He was also involved in pro lacrosse and was GM of the Philadelphia Wings in 1974 in a fledgling pro lacrosse league.

Bionda also played hockey, playing 13 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1955-56 and 80 I WENDY LONG VANCOUVER SUN Ultra-marathoner Herb Phillips' life took a radical detour some 18 years ago while he was running in a much faster lane selling electrical products to the construction industry, i In his successful career he focused much of his energy on making major sales and "chasing martinis." tl was in my early 40s when I decided I had to change my lifestyle," recalls Phillips, who will turn 60 in July and will be among 20 solo runners taking part in Saturday's 100-kilometre Haney to Harrison road relay. fit's not so prevalent today but back then you used to do a lot of this sort of thing: I would sell a lot of dollars worth of product and then we'd go out and have martinis for lunch. We'd look for the perfect marti-njj. During that time as salesmen we did drink way too much. "I guess you get to a point in ypnr life where you realize fi're missing a lot, is all this nking really that much fun? after a running workout yu just feel so good." Phillips abandoned his pur rames for the Boston Bruins Hi from 1956 to 1959.

But lacrosse was his true love. v. LYNDON LITTLE VANCOUVER SUN It's been another tough year in Canada's heartland. And the crisis on the farm is matched only by the one on the football field. That's why the Saskatchewan Roughriders would like nothing better than to remove some of the bitter taste from another dismal season with a victory over the B.C.

Lions tonight (730, TSN) at B.C. Place Stadium. The task, however, is daunting. The 3-14 Roughriders haven't won a game on the road since October of last year. And they haven't won anywhere since defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 42-17 in their tra Cal Murphy Thursday.

"But certain things have not gone in our favour." When things go terribly wrong with a football team it usually means there's trouble at quarterback. Veteran Reggie Slack hero of the "97 Grey Cup season was counted on for a stellar year. However, Slack never did perform up to expec-. tations. Then he ran into an adj diction problem and is now out.

with a neck injury. Back-up Steve Sarkisian has had his moments but has been largely inconsistent He leads the league in interceptions with 21 whil4 throwing just 15 TD passes. "Our big problem has been a the quarterbacking positional admits Murphy. "When Steve had to come in he started out Jack Bionda, a member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame considered one of Canada's finest box lacrosse players ever, has died at the age of 66. Bionda, a native of Huntsville, Ont, died Wednesday night of apparent complications after undergoing knee replacement surgery in London, Ont There was no immediate word on cause of death.

He was a lacrosse showman, dazzling fans and opponents alike with his stickwork. "I remember that in a 1958 Bionda played in seven Mann Cup finals, winning five and was twice named Mann Cup MVP, with the Victoria Shamrocks and New Westminster Salmonbellies in the 1950s and early '60s. In 1959, he scored 70 goals and added 74 assists in 28 games. In fact Bionda won the scoring title every year he played a full season. IAN SMITHVancouver Sun Filet JACK BIONDA: Dead at 66 game at Queens Park Arena, Bionda was so incredible that he sent an awestruck 19-year- ditional Labour Day weekend meeting in Regina.

All this suit of the ideal martini and be- old rookie reporter running to still quite often referred to as well but then he threw some in- Defence was never his strong gn running. In the process his-a-thesaurusTecalled Vancou-thegreatest player to play the-point, but his explosive offence comes on the heels of a 5-13 sea terceptions. I don't care who ubicrht slrrtnnAt fn T3C nAime tor Cum rtlnmnict ArrfllP M- tramp mnrfl tVlon mirlo nr fri if IJa rnn Sn 'QO Tl osmiVa niiirtorKot wfeight dropped to 135 pounds game. more than made for it. He in '98.

If vou're Quarterback vou are. a son up scored 685 goals and added 506 SEE RUNNER, E4 I assists for 1,191 points in just 326 Senior A lacrosse games in B.C. "If he wanted a goal, he sim Just to make tonight's job more formidable, the 12-5 Lions have a considerable stake In tonight's victory and they'll clinch the. team's Donald, the cub reporter in question. "What's another word for unJ believable, I asked myself?" "He had a stellar career," said Michael Lachapelle, general.

"But more importantly, one of the shining lights that Jack brought to things was even after his playing career was over, he's always kept an absolute -dedication to the gameJ? That included participation in ply got it," Cleve Dheensaw and you start to throw intercept tionsyotf get gun shy." Typical of struggling teams; the 'Riders have also had trouble at crunch time. They're coming off a game in Edmontoq where they battled their wajf back into contention but SEE LIONS, E3 il wrote in Jus book Lacrosse J00 first, first-place finish since to manager ot the Canadian Lacrosse Association. "He was a unanimous choice in the une Hundred years of 1987. Lacrosse in B.C. "I had really hoped we'd turn epp B.fwnA thiS aroun" said a sub- stE bionda, E3 dued Sasatchewan head coach celebrity games, where Bionda often outshone NHL players (Lacrosse) Hall of Fame and is more than half his age, nfiPR im (ihr (iMk cOiP ninm? rrmf rmTi zzz 7 5 if 'At.

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