Tulare Advance-Register from Tulare, California • 18

Jordan Righi, Sports Editor 688-0524, 735-3288 Fax: 688-5580, 735-3399 www.TulareAdvanceRegister.com A4 Tulare Advance-Register Tuesday, March 20, 2001 IN BRIEF Kings move into 2nd place Francis said. We just want to make sure we dont put our heads down too low, because theres too much at stake. We still have an opportunity to control our own destiny to a certain extent, and thats what we have to do. Luc Robitaille scored his 35th goal and had two assists to increase his point total with Los Angeles to 1,071, and move past Kings general manager Dave Taylor into second place on the franchises career point list. Ziggy Palfly, Jaroslav Mod-ry and Kelly Buchberger also scored for the Kings, who extended their unbeaten streak Associated Press LOS ANGELES -The Los Angeles Kings had a simple task to move into eighth place in the Western Conference playoff chase: beat the team ahead of them, the slumping Phoenix Coyotes.

Bryan Smolinski had two goals and an assist and the Kings scored two short-handed goals in a 15-second span of the second period en route to a 6-2 victory over the Coyotes. Los Angeles and Phoenix are tied with 79 points. But the Kings have three more victories and a game at hand on the Coyotes. Weve jumped into that to six games (5-0-1) and their home unbeaten run to seven (6-0-1). The victory was Los Angeles first at home against Phoenix in nine tries (1-7-1).

Travis Green and Jeremy Roenick, playing in his 900th NHL game, scored for Phoenix. The Coyotes are winless in their last six road games, the teams longest drought of the season. Sean Burke, who entered with a league-leading .926 save percentage, surrendered four goals on the first 10 shots he faced as the Kings built a 4-1 lead with 8:06 left in the second period. to Dvj G3 Late Associated Press Los Angeles Kings Felix Potvin deflects a puck during the first period against the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday in Los Angeles. Student newspaper wants Earnhardt photos Associated Press DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.

A student newspaper joined the dispute regarding Dale Earnhardts autopsy photos, requesting that it be allowed to see them. The Independent Florida Alligator, which is run by University of Florida students but is not an official university publication, filed a motion in a Daytona Beach court Friday. A settlement between Earnhardts widow and the Orlando Sentinel and a bill proposed in the state Legislature limiting access and barring publication of the photos is not in the publics best interest, Alligator editor Jason Brown said. It is very unlikely that we print them, but wed like to decide for ourselves rather than have the courts decide for us," Brown sad. Wed like the courts to stick by what the law is.

Florida law doesnt restrict access to autopsy reports or photos. A lawyer for the student newspaper says providing access to the autopsy photos allows others to review the medical examiners findings, or possibly help find a safety device that could have saved Earnhardts life. It is not the prurient interest that is driving this, lawyer Tom Julin said. Teresa Earnhardts lawyers reached an agreement Friday with the lawyers for the Sentinel, which had sought to review the autopsy photos of the NASCAR great but pledged not to publish them. The Sentinel will get to view the photos and ask a court-appointed expert three questions about Earnhardts injuries before they are sealed.

Mrs. Earnhardt had sued to block the release of the photos, and a judge granted the request. She says releasing the photos would violate the familys privacy. Also, a bill that would require a judges approval for the public to see autopsy photos has won approval from a state Senate committee and is moving toward a vote in both chambers of the mt Spurs beat the Trail Blazers for the second time 11 days. Reserve Steve Smith led Portland with 23 points, and Rasheed Wallace 20.

The Spurs went on a 14-0 to take a 24-10 lead, never let the margin below nine the rest of game. eighth spot, but we dont want to get a big head and get ahead of ourselves because theres a long way to go, Smolinski said. Theres still 10 games left in the season, and we can do a lot of damage." The Coyotes fell out of the top eight spots in the conference for the first time this season, while the Kings moved into the eighth spot for the first time since Dec. 29. Youre never as good as you think you are when things are going well, and youre never as bad as you think you are when things are going poorly," coach Bob NBA ROUNDUP wanted him to cool off The Lakers led 102-100 after Fox hit a 3-pointer with 2:32 remaining.

But the Hawks scored the next seven points, including the go-ahead basket by Brevin Knight and Kukocs critical 3-pointer with 56 seconds remaining. Bryant answered with a short shot along the baseline, and Fox made it 107-106 when converted a layup with 7.6 seconds to go. The Lakers fouled quickly, and Terry gave the defending NBA champions a chance by making only one of two free throws. Biyant got the ball at the top of the key and squared up for the tying jumper, but his shot bounced off the back of the rim. The horn sounded while the teams scrambled for the rebound.

I had a good look at it, Bryant said. After the miss, Terry slapped hands at courtside with Atlanta rap producer Jermaine Dupri, who was wearing the players No. 31 jersey. The rest of the sellout crowd of 19,707 made more noise than the Hawks have heard all season. It felt like we had won a championship game or at least gotten a berth in the playoffs, Terry said.

It felt big. The Hawks wont be going to the postseason, of course, so this figures to be the brightest memory from their rebuilding season. They drew the largest crowd for a sports event in the two-year history of Philips Arena and only their second sellout of the season. The big turnout many of them wearing Lakers gear saw Atlanta win for the first time in 18 games this season with an opponent scoring 100 points. The Lakers four-game winning streak ended and they dropped percentage points behind Sacramento in the Pacific Division.

SuperSonics 93, 76ers 89: Playing without Allen Iverson or coach Larry Brown, lost at Seattle, giving the Sixers their first three-game losing streak of the season. Gary Payton scored 29 points, passing 15,000 for his career, to lead Seattle to slump 49ers waive running back Travis Jervey SANTA CLARA Travis Jervey, a kick returner and reserve running back for the San Francisco 49ers, was waived Monday after he faded to agree to a restructured contract. After signing with San Francisco as a free agent in 1999 to compete for the 49ers starting running back spot, Jervey played almost entirely on special teams. He had seven rushes for 49 yards in two seasons with San Francisco, but his 2000 season was cut short after he fractured his collarbone during a 68-yard kickoff return the longest of his six-year career. He made the Pro Bowl as a special teams player with Green Bay in 1997.

Jervey restructured his four-year, $6 million contract last winter to help the 49ers with their perennial cap problems, but he wouldnt agree to a pay cut this season and was released. Jervey was scheduled to make roughly $850,000 in base salary in 2001. Green participates in full workout VERO BEACH, Fla. -Shawn Green on Monday went through his first full workout with the Los Angeles Dodgers since spraining his right thumb in the teams exhibition opener. The 28-year-old right fielder was injured sliding into second base on March 2.

It was originally thought that Green would sidelined only a few days, but the injury turned out to be more serious. Green will be playing in the near future and is expected to be ready to start the season, according to team spokesman John 01-guin. Olguin also said infielder-outfielder Hiram Bocachi-ca, who fouled a ball off his left ankle Saturday, was improved and would probably be able to play later this week. In addition, outfielder F.P. Santangelo, who pulled an oblique muscle in his left side during batting practice Saturday, is day-to-day.

The Dodgers exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Jupiter, on Monday was rained out. Jaha leads As past Cubs 10-4 PHOENIX John Jaha, struggling to regain his hitting form after missing most of last season with shoulder problems, had a two-run double as the Oakland a scored five runs in the first inning to beat the Chicago Cubs 104 on Monday. Bany Zito made his third straight strong start for the As, allowing one earned run in five innings. Brewers edge Angels 5-4 TEMPE, Ariz.

Jimmy Haynes allowed two runs in five innings and Richie Sex-son had three hits and two RBIs as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Anaheim Angels 54 on Monday. Russian skaters in winning form VANCOUVER, British Columbia Its as if Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze never missed last years world championships. Showing the same speed, power and style that carried them to world titles in 1998 and 1999, the Russians simply outclassed everyone Monday night to win the pairs short program in the World Figure Skating Championships. Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo of China, last years silver medalists, were in second. Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier were third.

Two-time U.S. champions Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman were sixth, while Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn were ninth. Record crowd spurs Altanta; Kobe misses shot as time runs out Associated Press ATLANTA The Los Angeles Lakers are just percentage points out of first place in the Pacific Division. Still, there are times when they hardly resemble the team that won the NBA championship. One of those times was Monday night, when the Lakers lost to the lowly Atlanta Hawks for the first time in four seasons.

Jason Terry scored 36 points as the Hawks, spurred on by a record crowd at Philips Arena, held off the Lakers 108-106 when Kobe Bryant missed a shot at the buzzer. This is a different team than last year, Rick Fox said. Were just still searching for that same rhythm we had last year. And we have 15 games left to do that. In the only other NBA games Monday, Seattle beat Philadelphia 93-89 and San Antonio defeated Portland 98-85.

The Lakers did a lot of things right. They got to the foul line 34 times 16 in the fourth quarter alone and shot 50 percent (39-of-78) from the field. In addition, they thoroughly dominated the Hawks on the boards, 48-27. But Los Angeles committed 19 turnovers Biyant had seven and kept getting lost at the defensive end. Terry connected on five 3-pointers, while Toni Kukoc added four 3s among his 26 points.

It was our first loss to a team like this, said Shaquille ONeal, who had 27 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. Were supposed to beat teams like this all the time. Bryant, who also had 27 points, exchanged angry words with coach Phil Jack-son in the fourth quarter. Jackson downplayed the incident. He got upset about turning the ball over, Jackson said.

We tried to get him to stay on the floor to make passes and he got up in the air a couple of times and turned the ball over. I just Tigers Pi i the in had run then drop the neck to stay in bounds on the 18th, and hit a 5-iron from a hardpan lie into 15 feet for the winning birdie. This is what you need to have happen in order to win, Woods said. Youre going to have to somehow grab some great breaks and have luck on your side. You cant always play well on Sunday and win.

The timing couldnt be better. The Masters is only 18 days away, and Augusta National will be buzzing like never before in its 67-year history as Woods tries to become the first player to hold all four major championship trophies at the same time. There will not be any buzz about a slump because it no longer exists if it ever did in the first place. Questions about what was wrong with Woods game be TAssociated Press Los Angeles Lakers Mark Madsen pulls down a rebound in front of Atlanta Hawks guard DeMarr Johnson during the first half of play in Atlanta on Monday. Aaron McKie, starting in place of Iverson, paced the Sixers with 21 points.

Spurs 98, Trail Blazers 85: Derek Anderson scored 28 points and Tim Duncan tied his career high with 23 rebounds as host San Antonio handed Portland its fifth loss in six games. Duncan had 20 points as with style at Bay Hill its sixth straight win as the Sonics moved closer in the playoff race, 3 V2 games behind Minnesota. Iverson, the NBAs leader in scoring and steals, missed the game with a left hip pointer, while Brown underwent tests in a Philadelphia hospital for disorders of the stomach and esophagus. ended Associated Press PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. The drought was the longest Tiger Woods had ever faced at the start of a new season, but he never sounded concerned about everyone winning on the PGA Tour except him.

He pointed to his scores, which were similar to the year before. And more than once, he said that only four weeks a year the majors really matter. Win those four weeks, youve had a pretty good year, he said. The Bay Hill Invitational is hardly a major, but it certainly puts Woods in a good frame of the mind for the first one. With a little bit of luck and an extraordinary amount of skill, Woods turned potential disaster into birdies on two of the last three holes to beat gan to annoy him, and even took a jab at those thought he was strugglin I guess if I dont win week I dont know if it slump or not, he said.

But even Woods had take stock of how much i victory translates into i mentum. There is no bel cure than winning, I Woods might have felt a li confident had he been abli win without the theatrics. His driving was so erri only one fairway hit wit driver in his hands his goal down the stretch to keep the ball between out-of-bounds stakes. Needing birdie to win the last hole, Woods hil Nolan Ryan curve ball the 18th tee at Bay Hill i survived only with a 5-ii that was as good as any he hit last year Phil Mickelson by one stroke Sunday at Bay Hill for his first victory of the year. His reaction spoke volumes a rat-a-tat pumping of fists; a roar; a hug for his caddie; an enormous smile; and when he sat down in a high-back chair, a heavy sigh.

More than anything, it feels good to win, Woods said. It came in his seventh tournament, the longest he had gone without winning at the start of a season since it took five events after he turned pro in 1996. His 3-under 69 wont earn him style points, even though he finished in style. He came within 4 feet of going out of bounds with his drive on the par-5 16th, then hit 7-iron out of the rough and over the water for a two-putt birdie. Then, he got a good bounce off a spectators Associated Press Tiger Woods reacts after sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the Bay Hill Invitational in Orlando, Fla.

on Sunday. Woods shot a 15 under for the four rounds. The drought was the longest Woods had ever faced at the start of a new season, but he never sounded concerned about everyone winning on the PGA Tour except him..