Times-Advocate from Escondido, California • 21

MARCH 10, 1994 timesadvocate I I I UPrep baseball, Ij! softball roundups C2 Umpires question j' the delivery of I Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park C3 1 UCalvin Christians I Shauna Koolhaas is Citrus League player I of the year IZ 1 WAC TOURNAMENT NFL cap cflamxse twees Walker oyft; Mali stays seasons? The salary cap, said general manager Bobby Beathard. Sounds simple. And thats part of it. The Chargers needed to make room under the salary cap for Halls contract. Financial terms werent released, but the deal reportedly will pay Hall more than $6.5 million.

That makes him the teams highest-paid offensive lineman and the highest-paid center in the NFL. Walker had two years remaining on a $3.1 million, three-year contract he signed last season. Walker was scheduled to be paid more than $2 million over the next two seasons. Its a decision we agonized over, said Beathard. Its hard for players to understand, but Derrick is a sharp guy.

He talked like he understood it. Another factor is Walkers history of knee problems. He had reconstructive knee sur- Please see HALL, C2 CHARGERS: Team cuts loose high-priced tight end on same day it announces three-year deal with center GEOFFREY OO LEY Times Advocate SAN DIEGO Gain a player. Lose a player. That was the routine for the Chargers on Wednesday.

Its all part of life with the salary cap in the NFL. The good news for the Chargers was they wont be losing center Courtney Hall. The club Hall announced that it has reached an agreement with Hall on a three-year contract. The bad news is they cant afford tight end Derrick Walker. The Chargers also announced Walker has been released.

Why release a player who has been a starter for the past four Aztecs top Wyoming in WAC tourney ERIC WINTER For the Times Advocate SALT LAKE CITY It was a small lead, one point, with only 4.8 seconds left. And for Chad Nelson, freshman point guard for the San Diego State mens basketball team, that meant hitting both free throws to secure victory Wednesday night. First shot, good. Same with the second. And that gave the Aztecs a 54-5 1 victory over Wyoming in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament at the Delta Center.

A couple of (Wyoming) players were talking trash as I got to the line, Nelson said. (David) Murray, especially. But I put them in. That he did. The 6-footer who took control of the Aztecs offense after the defection of starter ason Hamilton sent the Cowboys home for the second straight year.

My dad taught me to shoot free throws right over the front rim, he said. Under-achieving Wyoming (14-14) was hopingto erase the memory of a first-round loss to San Diego State in last years tournament. The Aztecs, mean- while, were looking to beat the Cowboys for the third time in the past four meetings. Deja vu, said Aztecs coach Tony Fuller, notching his second postseason win against two losses. Chads an excellent free-throw shooter.

He got up there, and he knocked them down. The eighth-seeded Cowboys failed to keep the Aztecs (12-15) out of the quarterfinals for the second straight year. Everyone packed for Sunday, and we plan on staying down here, said forward Carius Groves, who scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds but was nursing a sore left knee after the game. The score was tied 47-47 with Phillies Kruk has cancer removed Wyoming's Quelnt Higgins, left, battles for position as San Diego State forward Carius Groves applies the defense during Wednesdays game. i I COMMENTARY ij The games nolonger thething for Daly; sobriety is VIC ZIEGELWeu; Yorft Daily News FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.

John Daly is talking about and Diet Coke and Marlboros and Jack Daniels. For him, three out of four aint bad, might make him rich, might even keep him alive. No, he doesnt know exactly how much he poured down his throat when he was really drinking, which he isnt doing now, he says. Not one drop in 14 months, he says. His girlfriend, Paulette Dean, remembers a room-service meal in Hawaii last year, chocolate cake.

The golfer thought he tasted amaretto in the frosting and ran into the bathroom, leaned over the sink, spitting it away. That proved a lot to me, she said Tuesday. When she first met him, alcohol was no problem. As in the line, I drink, I fall down, I get up, I drink, I fall down, I get up, no problem. Paulette Dean, blond and cheerful, is asked what Daly was like when he drank heavily.

She didnt hesitate. Crazy and funny, she says, just like a drunk person. He has cut down the to a bag or two a day. Still does about 14 Diet Cokes and never less than three packs of Marlboros a day. The other scary stuff, the hard stuff, that number is down to zero.

Once, he trashed his house, another time his Blazer. Woke up in hospitals four times because of drinking. He was living with a friend after his first divorce the second divorce is the problem now. He told me I was drinking over a fifth of Jack (Daniels) a day, Daly said. Youd think I got the hint.

I never did. He was cold sober all of last year, no small trick on a warm-weather tour where everybody wants you to have another one. Financially, sober was a waste of time. He collected $225,59 1 in 24 tournaments, which isnt the same as starving, but it was less than he made for 72 holes in 1991, when he pulled in $230,000 as the surprising PGA champion. A big-hitting, outgoing blond kid, he might have been the next Jack Nick-laus, but more fun, with longer hair.

He was PGA rookie of the year in 9 1 and took home $574,000. The next year, when bar was as important as par, he dipped to $387,000. Last year, sober, he dropped to No. 79 on the money list. This year, son of sober, I would like to win a million, he says.

Its great to be back. Nice. Wonderful. Im just goingto go out there and play golf. This year begins for him today at the $1.1 million Honda Classic.

know I cant drink anymore, he said. He followed that with, I want to. Every day. The stuffs pret- ty good. Certain things go well with a beer.

But I know I cant. I know Im not going to live if I drink. I JIM THOMPSONAssociataf Press Nelson was fouled with 37 seconds left. He also hit one of two shots. Wyoming closed the gap to 51-49 when Queint Higgins hit a soft 5-footer.

Nelson (six points on 6-of-8 from the line) then hit one out of two again to keep the Aztecs ahead 52-49. Ratliff put in an uncontested dunk with 6.3 seconds left, but Nelsons final two free throws clinched it. This season has been up and down for us, Groves said. We know that we can come in and Please see AZTECS, C2 1:35 left when Groves hit a 2-foot hook over Wyomings 6-foot-10 center Theo Ratliff (22 points, 19 rebounds). On the other end of the court after the score, Groves grabbed a loose ball from a Chris Walters blocked shot and passed it across midcourt to Terrence Hamilton, who fouled on his way to the basket.

The referee called a flagrant foul, and Courtie Miller came off the bench to hit one of two free throws for the injured Hamilton. That made it 50-47. The Aztecs kept the ball, and iajM: lift BASEBALL: Doctors will do more tests to determine if it has spread JOHN F. BONFATTI Associated Press LAKELAND, Fla. John Kruk, the All-Star first base-man of the Philadelphia Phil lies, was diagnosed with cancer Wednesday after doctors removed one of his testicles.

Team doctor Phillip Ma-rone said specialists expect Kruk to make a full recovery. A seminoma is a cancer that is very curable, he said. If there is spread, then the treatment is a very low dose of irradiation, of which the cure rate is 99 percent. Marone said doctors will conduct a CAT scan on Kruks chest, abdomen and pelvis Friday at the Phillies spring training site in nearby Clearwater. If the tests indicate the cancer has not spread from the testicle, Marone said Kruk, who broke into the major leagues with the Padres, will undergo no special treatment and would be able to return to playing within the next two to three weeks.

Doctors became concerned after operating on Kruk to deal with a hematoma, or gathering of blood, on Kruks scrotal sac. The hematoma occurred when Kruk was struck in the groin last summer by an errant throw to first by former Phillies reliever Mitch Williams. Once it (the testicle) was removed, it did not look normal, Marone said. It just looked ominous when we looked at it. A detailed examination of the testicle revealed the seminoma.

Marone said the cancer is probably not related to the hematoma. familiar of favorite PREP GOLF PREVIEW Judges ruling favors Harding FIGURE SKATING: Decision delays hearing that could have kept embattled athlete out of world championships BOB BAUM Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. Her lawyers got her to Norway. Now Tonya Harding has her sights set on Japan. Thanks to a federal judges ruling, Harding likely will compete in this months World Figure Skating Championships in Chiba, Japan.

The U.S. Figure Skating Association planned to convene a hearing today in Colorado Springs, to determine whether Harding should be banished from the sport. But U.S. District Judge Owen Panner granted a temporary restraining order Wednesday delaying the USFSA proceeding indefinitely. The figure skating association wouldnt comment on a possible appeal.

But the draw for the order of competition at the world championships is March 18, and chances of a hearing being rescheduled before then seem dim. Harding was elated when informed of the ruling as she practiced at a rink some 10 miles from the courtroom. Im really happy. Im really, really happy, she said, then she pointed at reporters. This time Im going to win.

She went back on the ice and performed a triple axel in celebration. Never too early fora meeting PADRES NOTES: Vets blast younger players for lackadaisical play before team notches first win CHRIS DE LUCA Times Advocate PEORIA, Ariz. Harold Reynolds and Bip Roberts had watched enough of the Padres uninspired play this spring. The two veterans knew their young teammates were falling into a dangerous pit. Signs were being missed.

Ground balls werent being run out. The intensity that should be evident in spring training was gone. Over dinner Tuesday night, Reynolds and Roberts decided a team meeting was needed to send a jolt to their young teammates, whose attitudes were straying in the wrong direction. We decided to nip it now, Reynolds said Wednesday. Guys were kind of slacking.

Ive been there Ive seen it all before. In a heated meeting that also involved veterans Tony Gwynn, Andy Benes and Geno Petralli, a clear message was sent. And after 10 innings Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers, it was clear the message had been received at least for a day. The Padres previously baseballs only winless team this spring training rallied for two Please see PADRES, C3 Poway is with role PREP GOLF: Titans stacked with talent in bid to repeat as CIF champion; Torrey Pines looks strongest in Avocado SHAUN O'NEILL Times Advocate Things arent going to be easy for teams looking to move up in the Avocado and Palomar league golf standings. The top four finishers in last seasons CIF team tournament are from the North County, and each looks to be at least as strong this year.

Poway swept through the Palomar League before winning CIF, and Torrey Pines dominated the Avocado before finishing second. San Marcos and Fallbrook tied for third, and the Warriors werent even among the Palo-mars top three during the regular season. The Palomar League again figures to be loaded. Ive been coaching golf 20 years, and this is the strongest the league has been, said Fall-brook coach Mike Vanyo. Take Poway and Rancho Bernardo those two are really good.

Poway actually could be even better this year. Teams scores below 200 tire a given at Poway, which features such stars as Charley Hoffman, good enough as an amateur to Please see GOLF, C4 i i.