The Herald from Jasper, Indiana • 24

Page 24 sports The Herald, Wednesday, August 1 6, 1 995 Seles back, Graf out at Canadian Open By HAL BOCK TORONTO (AP) Her legs rubbery at the start, and the sky seemed to be over her head. of that really interfered. though, as Monica Seles made a successful return to tournament tennis with a fr-O, 6-3 victory over Kimberly Po at the Canadian Open. The return was complete with all of Seles' old weapons blistering forehands and backhands that often kissed the lines, and the signature sound effects that punctuated every snot "I think I played pretty well," she said. "Just to play again is all I ever asked for." I Forced out of the game she loved for nearly 24 years, Seles' Canadian Open when it will be hard because of what happened," she said.

"But I have to move on." The tournament lost an anticipated showdown between the co-No. 1 ranked players when Steffi Graf was upset earlier Tuesday by Amanda Coetzer. Graf was gracious about Seles' return. As for the long layoff, Graf said it shouldn't be a problem for Seles. "If somebody can do it," she said, "it's her." Even curiousity couldn't make Graf stick around to see Seles' first match back, though.

After losing to Coetzer 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 she made a quick exit, probably to practice. Perhaps a tad overconfident after never losing so much as a set to Coetzer in six previous matches, Graf said she came in unprepared, and it cost her against the 23-year-old South African. It was the first time she has lost an opening round match in a WTA Tour event since Lori McNeil beat her at Wimbledon last year. She said she had practiced just nine or 10 days in the last three urned out to be emotional greeted Tuesday night by Lw jpf a standing ovation that left her shaken as she entered the stadium. I couldn't feel my legs," she said.

"They were rubbery. 'Then on a couple of overheads, I felt the sky was moving. I told myself I couldn't let this happen. There was a match to be played." Seles was never threatened by Po, who had lot 11 consecutive and earning the role of sacrificial lamb for Seles. There were three security guards stationed behind the players' chairs, but Seles never felt it necessary to look over her shoulder.

The stabbing of April 30. 1993 The problem, she said, was a cranky back "and some other things." Her father was arrested as part of an income tax investigation in Germany. The price was her 32-match winning streak that Graf said she knew was in jeopardy right from the start against Coetzer. Graf won the first set even though she felt she did not play very well. Then Coetzer took the first five games to win the second, her first ever against Graf.

The players then took an 11 -minute break from the stifling beat and humidity and played a seesaw third set. "I've always been very strong mentally on the court," she said. "You can't let one person change your life If you work hard at something, you can make it Monica Seles hits a strone backhand aeainst Kim Certainly Seles has worked at exorcizing the demons left by the stabbing Again Po, there seemed to be no scars. "There will always be a time and whistling shots that kissed the line. It added up to an efficient 6-4), 6-3 one-hour wipeout of Po at the Canadian Open, a victory that left Seles overcome by emotion.

(AP photo) berry Po during her first match at the du Maurier Open tennis tournament in Toronto. For her return to tournament tennis Tuesday, Seles came equipped with the whole package backhands, forehands Red-hot Rolen catches red-eye to Reading for promotion yet because it hasn't had time to rest, but there isn't any pain anymore." Rolen reached Reading in time Tuesday to watch his new teammates sweep a doubleheader from Hardware City, giving the first place Phillies a one game lead in the Eastern League pennant race. "I really appreciate the way the community has supported me throughout high school and even now," said Rolen. "All that I can say is that I'm working as hard as I can and I'm not going to forget where I'm from." and 39 RBI in just 238 at-bats with Clearwater but was surprised to receive word that he'd been promoted. "You think to yourself this and that but what I've learned from last year is to just take things day-by-day," said Rolen.

"If you stay where you are and keep doing what you're doing, things will eventually work out. "If I hadn't gotten called up, then I wouldn't have gotten called up. Hopefully, I would' ve just started here next year." Rolen's season didn't start out minutes to catch my flight. "It wasn't much time to pack everything I own and get on a plane. I left my car in Florida and everything." Rolen, the Phillies' second round pick in the 1993 amateur draft, is expected to start at third base tonight for the Reading Phillies of the Class AA Eastern League.

"I'm a 20-year-old playing Double A baseball," said Rolen. "I'm very fortunate to be here." Indiana's first Mr. Baseball had been hitting .290 with 10 homers promising. The 20-year-old went on the disabled list with a broken bone in his left hand sustained during spring training. After a successful surgery April 20, Rolen returned to the Clearwater line-up June 5th.

"When I broke my hand at the beginning of the season I did not think that I was going to end up here in Double said Rolen. "The way my hand felt I thought, 'Oh boy, I'm in Eventually, game-by-game it's gotten stronger. "My hand still isn't 100 percent By MICHAEL Rl'BINO Herald Sports Writer READING, Pa. Scott Rolen's Tuesday morning brought new meaning to the phrase, get up and go' Rolen, a third baseman for the Clearwater Phillies of the Class A Florida State League, got the word he was being promoted to Double A ball even before the milk got las morning cereal soggy. "It really came as a surprise," said the Jasper native.

"I got a call, they said I got promoted and that I bad about an hour and 18 Football practice, scrimmages hot topics for local players There's no way around the heat. So you think you're hot. At least Between the Lines By Robert Denbo when I go outside I think I'm not. And when I'm outside, I'm usually in shorts, T-shirt and sometimes sandals and walking at a leisurely pace Now imagine buckling 25 pounds of plastic to your body, then running wind sprints and hitiing another human under the morning and afternoon sun. Football players in pads have been doing it most of the month.

Still think you're hot? The thought of that probably warmed and we've got some injuries. Sometimes I think you can attribute that to the heat or you can attribute that to the fact that we're hitting more than we did last year." Despite the unbearable beat, the Raiders apparently have been hitting pretty hard. In the scrimmage Saturday, Southridge kept visiting Paoli out of the end zone the entire time. At the same time, however, the Raiders found the end zone only once. But that wasn't necessarily the main objective.

Instead, good execution was considered a touchdown. "The scrimmage went pretty well," Banner said. "It did exactly what it was supposed to do. It told us where we were at and what lot better defensively. They didn't get in the end zone but we only scored once." Keeping the blood below the boiling point was also a prime concern and a tough task.

Long hours on the practice field can push that job to the limit. In some cases, the limit is reached. As a result, Hanner has encountered the typical injuries, such as banged up knees. The problem he runs into with the extreme heat is Htingiiiahing the injuries from illnesses. "We've had some kids dragging around and pulling out of practice," Hanner said.

"We practice from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and you've got to be careful because you don't know when they're hurt and when they're sick. We give them lots of water and lots of breaks." Unless a coach wants to practice between midnight and 6 a.m. when the temperature dips all the way down to the upper 70s, the players have to suck it up and sweat it out.

Relief for the players sometimes comes in the form of no pads and no helmets, otherwise it's full tilt as usual. The Raiders get nearly two hours for lunch at noontime, but Hanner hasn't adjusted his practice schedule to accommodate any cooler time slots. That's because there haven't been any of those slots. "We've cut practice short a Utile bit," Hanner said. "It doesn't really matter when you practice.

It's hotter at 7 a.m. than any other time." How many weeks is it until October? on twice a day. That made Saturday's controlled scrimmages that much more beneficial. In most cases, it was the only practice of the day and most of them didn't even last the a lotted two hours. For a lot of football players, the scrimmages were a refreshing break sort of to the heat and humidity that have taken their tolls on some local gridders.

"We're banged up right now," you up a couple, or many, It probably didn't relieve any of the anxieties of local high school football players. Hot or not, practice for the rapidly approaching see ton goes on and has for much of the taeviuus two weeks. And for Southridge coach Brad Banner I to work on. We played a said. "We've got some of that tune, it oeen going.