Johnson City Press from Johnson City, Tennessee • 19

fr -n- 0H i JL I i I 7'i V1 i Saturday May 6 1989 yirvJv Bucs sign versatile 'Jordans 50 Pelphrey 1 4 4 ft I tv The Associated Pren From Mad report HD A playoffs tt a 1 A 1 i it to' st 4 V- Football could have been in Jerry Pelphreys future but baa ketball is in his blood Given a choice Pelphrey went with basketball and signed a letter of intent Friday with East Tennessee State University "We got a good basketball play to tie it at 97 and then broke the tie with a free throw with 48 seconds remaining He made it 99-97 on a free throw with nine seconds to go 3 i er said ETSU coach Les Robin 1 1' Jr ixx but missed his second free throw Daugherty then tied it with a pair of clutch free throws to send the game into overtime The game was cle-Jthwf4s jtkiynuM iieluHif' team holding more than a six-point lead The Bulls biggest lead came when Dave Corzine converted a three-lint play for an 81-76 advan- point Bu 3ut CHICAGO Larry Nance scored 27 points and Mark Price added 24 to offset a 50-point performance by Michael Jordan Friday night and the Cleveland Cavaliers evened their best-of-5 playoff series against Chicago with a 108-105 overtime victory Friday night Game 5 of the series will be played Sunday at Richfield Ohio with the winner advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Now York Kskkr Ron Harper broke a 99-99 tie at the start of the overtime and Price followed with a 3-point basket before Nance gave the Cavaliers a 107-101 lead The Bulls never caught up although they got within two in the final seconds They had a chance to force a second overtime but Charles Davis and Craig Hodges missed two 3-pointers as time expired Brad Daughertys two free throws with four seconds left forced the game into overtime Jordan scored 11 Chicagos last 13 points in regulation but he missed a fadeaway iumper at the last second of regulation play Jordan who predicted the underdog Bulls would win this series in four games tied the game at 95 made two free throws A fT son "His dad was a basketball coach and his brother plays for Kentucky Hes a very smart player and a physical specimen too A lot of people thought he might go football" pMnVrr-y( a QJ ful wuu guard averaged 23 points and 125 rebounds a game last season at Paintsville (Ky) High School He was a second-team all-state selection and was nominated for the McDonalds All-America team Pelphrey becomes ETSUs second basketball signee of the spring Darell Jones a 6-9 forward from Gaffney SC committed to the Buccaneers earlier this week "I like the situation there and 1 like their style of play said Pelphrey who visited Johnson City last week "I think they have an upcoming program and Id like to be part of it Sth Xx three different Cavaliers scored in succession and Cleveland went ahead 82-81 With 5:18 left Nance scored four straight points for a 91-87 lead but Jordan tied it with a' basket and a pair of free throws Nance scored 12 points in the first quarter which ended with the Cavaliers holding a 23-22 lead despite twice having six-point leads Corzine put the Bulls ahead 24-23 at the start of the second Eeriod and the lead changed ands nine times before the Cavaliers grabbed a 35-32 lead AP LaserPhoto Chicagos Horace Grant tries to strip the ball from Clevelands Larry Nance see ETSU Page 32 Please see NBA Page 32 In region dimer's seei By Dave Link Press Spoils Writer Then came the victory by the 400 relay team of Shawn Earnest Corey Davis Chris Reddick and Alex Holtsclaw Each played football last year Their winning time was 439 seconds ahead of Farraguts 444 "Whenever you compete you want to have a positive attitude but I knew we had some stiff competition Holtsclaw said "There are some good teams here We were just going all out to see if we could do it Earnest Holtsclaw Travis Johns and Davis comebined to win the 800 relay in 1:335 in front of Farraguts 1:346 Davis who played basketball and foot- event qualify for the state meat in Nashville Neither driving rain or the best of regional competition could stop the Cyclones many of whom played football last fall for the school "The weather didnt bother us like it seemed to bother some of the other teams Presnell said "We have basically a senior team and theyve worked a long time for this I think they decided the weather wasnt going to be a factor Elizabethton claimed firsts in the shot put the 400 relay and the 800 relay Andrew Johnson got the Cyclones started right with a winning put of 49 feet 8 and a quarter inches in Friday mornings' Elizabethton topped the boys field with 66 points ahead of Farragut (555) Oak Ridge (42) Knox Bearden (41) and Daniel Boone (32) Oak Ridge has three athletes in the pole vault and a one-two-three finish by the Wildcats would tie Elizabethton Farragut has just one entry so a first-place finish (worth 10 points) wouldnt win for the team The Cyclones do not have an entry in the pole vault "I told my wife last night that on paper we had a chance to win if everything worked out Presnell said "We were seeded to score 66 points so I guess we did the job" The top two finishers in each regional KNOXVILLE Rain fell in sheets Friday A terrible wind blew The heavens rumbled It was a wonderful day for the Elizabethan Cyclones who virtually clinched the first Region 1-AAA track and field championship in their schools history Elizabethtons official victory party must wait until Monday because the pole vault event was postponed until Monday at 4 pm at Oak Ridge and barring a minor miracle Oak Ridge or Farragut wont catch the Cvclones "I dont think that will happen Cyclones coach Jim Presnell said Please see REGION Page 32 Corey Davis Muddy track could hinder Martin takes pole for Winston 500 rfUSJAn tj: Easy Goer The Asaocteted Prere 4 0s Is is 4 1 i i 4 'I TTm Aaaociated Press 1 4- 'i i i i 4 Jr I4 -'i 4 of Thursday qualifier Rick Wilson at 189144 The slowest of the top 20 qualifiers was Larry Pearson at 186010 slower than the all-time 500-mile record average of 186288 that Elliott set in winning this race in 1985 The rest of the 41-car field pras finally filled Friday after another rain delay of about six hours Ken Schrader who failed to post a qualifying lap in the first round because of an engine problem easily led the second ses- sion at 189530 in a Lumina That lap would have been good enough to be eighth in the first round Martin earned his series-leading third pole of the season and now has qualified no worse than fifth in nine tries this year "Evidently we had the right combination to run mod in this kind of air Mar- 'A 3 ft i 4V 4 i -W re 4 4 4 A1 i n' TALLADEGA Ala Mark Martin continued his red-hot qualifying Friday winning the pole position in the rain-delayed conclusion of first-round qualifying for the Winston 600 NASCAR stock car race The Batesville Ark native who now lives in Greensboro NC led a Ford Thunderbird sweep of the top four positions with a fast lap of 193061 mpn on Talladega Superspeedways 266-mile oval Thanks to NASCARs new carburetor restrictor plates Martins pole speed was considerably slower than the 198969 turned in a year ago by Davey Allison In fact Allison was the second-fastest qualifier for Sundays 500-mile race at 192851 followed by Neil Bonnett at 192189 and track record-holder Bill Elliott at 190970 Bonnett who has not won a pole position since 1985 was the ovemignt leader after rain interrupted Thursdays scheduled qualifying following only 12 attempts Darrell Waltrip who also turned his 189959 lap on Tnursday wound up fifth in a new Chevrolet Lumina followed by Morgan Shepherd at 189895 in a Pontiac Grand Prix and Thursday qualifiers Harry Gant at 189800 and Phil Parsons at 189604 both in Oldsmobile Cutlasses Rounding out the top 10 were Terry Lgbontes Ford at 189185 and the Cutlass tin said referring to the early-morning i which included cool weather conditions air high humidity and a falling barometer all factors which effect engine efficiency and power "When we heard the other times this morning we thought we were dead in the water Martin said "The times seemed to be off I thought it would take us out of the top five Elliott who set the all-time stock car qualifying mark of 212809 here two years LOUISVILLE Ky The site will be the same and the setting could be similar for Easy Goer today But trainer Shug McGaughey sure hopes the result will be different when the colt takes on 15 other 3-year-olds in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs On a damp dark Nov 5 Easy Goer went off as the 3-10 favorite in the $1 million Breeders Cup Juvenile at the Downs At the end of the 1 1-16 miles on a muddy track he was 1V lengths behind Is It True A cloudy damp dav was forecast for today with a temperature of 50 degrees at race time which is scheduled for 5:33 pm It would be the coldest Derby Day since Iron Liege won in 47-degreee weather in 1957 It also was 47 when Omaha won in 1935 Since the loss Nov 5 Easy Goer has been dazzling in winning his three starts as a 3-year-old on fast tracks and dry days Also unbeaten in three starts this year is Sunday Silence considered to be Easy Goers main challenger Two-tenths of an inch of rain fell on- Breeders Cup Day when the high temperature was 54 degrees and the low was 38 It rained Thursday night and there was a thun-' derstorm late Friday afternoon Though only light pockets of rain were forecast for this morning it was not likely the track would be fast for the Derby Easy Goer worked five-eighths of a mile last Saturday on a sloppy track land McGaughey said "if it comes up sloppy Derby Day and its like that Im not going to worry about it MnOt ujjHav a pntiv nf Irvington Ky who used to train regularly at Churchill Downs said the track on Breeders Cup Day was different than he had ever seen it Jockey Pat Day who has ridden Easy Goer in all of his races said it was like Easy Goer was running in peanut butter in the Breeders Cup race Some horsemen feel that Sunday Silence has an edge because Easy Goer hasnt been tested "He got enough out of his races to move him forward after every one McGaughey said Easy Goer will run as McGaughey-trained entry with Awe Inspiring The entry figured to be the odds-on favonte with Sunday Silence a solid second choice The last odds-on Derby favorite was Spectacular Bid who was 3-5 in 1979 and he was the last favorite to win ftr Af'l Jvf i i i AP LaserPhoto Pleas see WINSTON Page 32 Brett Bodine looks at a carburetor restrictor plate i BIRs surface to be By Kelly Hodge Prats Managing Sporta Edtor tion we have at Bristol he felt it was best to go ahead with the repaving at this time tion periods a modern-day NASCAR record APAC a Knoxville paving firm will perform the new facelift Crews could begin their work as early as next week if the weather permits "Well do it next week or at the earliest opportunity said Ron Scalf BIR public relations director "We already have a large piece of paving equipment sitting on the grounds "We didnt have any complaints from NASCAR or the drivers about the condition of the track said Scalf "Larry just wasnt satisfied with things and to maintain the reputa material designed for long wear and excellent traction In my opinion this theory proved to be right "On the other hand the surface also proved to be too abrasive causing a tremendous amount of wear and tear on the car tires For this reason and because safety is always at the forefront of my thoughts 1 have decided to repave the track The high-banked oval was resurfaced last November as part of a (3 million improvement package It resulted in smoother and faster racing during the Valleydale 500 in April but that event also featured 20 cau BRISTOL The new asphalt surface at Bristol International Raceway apparently will not have a chance to grow old BIR president Larry Carrier citing excessive tire wear during the two NASCAR races last month has decided to repave the worlds fastest half-mile track for the the second time in six months "I thought there was too much tire wear said Carrier The aggregate which was used in the paving mixture was granite a non-polishing Carrier expects the problem to be resolved well before tne' Busch 500 rolls around in late August but he said ho was thinking more about the long-term future of racing at Bristol "We want to continue to do everything possible to provide the race fan with a first-class facility and first-class Winston Cup races he said "Obviously the cost (of repaving) will be tremendous but in the long run itll be worth it because the end re-Please see BIR Page 32 Please see DERBY Pag 32 I (L.