The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 17

"11011k -ru2440 Ard SipoRts Section Score Phone: (704) 379-6535 hi Charlotte Observer Monday May 29 1989 A Fi als ID Sweep Is Sweet: Lakers 4vance To Bucks Trade Cummings To Spurs NBA Playoffs Sunday's Result LA Lakers 122 Phoenix 117 (Lakers win series 4-0) Today's Game Detroit at Chicago (CBS) 3 pm (Bulls lead series 2-1) Associated Press MILWAUKEE The Milwaukee Bucks traded forward Terry Cummings the NBA teams leading scorer the last live seasons to the San Antonio Spurs Sunday for guard Alvin Robertson forward Greg Anderson and future and the Suns the Lakers have become the first team in seven years to advance to the NBA final undefeated Los Angeles did it in 1982 then beat Philadelphia 4-2 for the title "This team never gets scared" said Lakers guard Magic Johnson who had 21 points and 20 assists "I always felt we were in control We are not the same team we were in the regular season The Phoenix Suns had never played a Lakers playoff team Now they know what See LAKERS Page 3B From Associated Press And New York Times Reports PHOENIX After throwing everything they had at the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday the Phoenix Suns finally got the message The Lakers' desire to win a third straight NBA championship is relentless And they are playing with such robot-like efficiency they appear unfazed by any situation they encounter The Lakers defeated the Suns 122-117 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum completing a four-game NBA All-Star team for the second time in his career last season averaged 229 points and 81 rebounds in 1989 but missed most of the Bucks' last five playoff games with a sprained ankle The Bucks were eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals by Detroit See MILWAUKEE Page 3B el Cummings 28 who was selected to the Cummings sweep of the Western Conference finals By sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers the Seattle SuperSonics 1 0 ft Gui With 5th Waite lp Marlin 2nd Engine Failure Stops Wallace r71 Tom Sorensen The Week That Rusty Turned Bad By TOM HIGGINS Staff Writer Determined not to be denied in a second straight weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway Darrell Waltrip drove to a fifth Coca-Cola 600 victory Sunday and raced two-thirds of the way to the Winston Million bonus Waltrip lost a chance at the $200000 prize in The Winston special event on May 21 in a controversial tangle with eventual winner Rusty Wallace one lap from the finish But now he can collect I million if he takes the Southern 500 on Sept 3 at Darlington (SC) Raceway The prize goes to a driver winning three of NASCAR Winston Cup stock car racing's Big Four events the Daytona 500 and Winston 500 at Talladega Ala are the other two in a sin- The Top 110 gle season Bill Elliott took the biggest The top 10 finishers in Sun-bonus in mo- day's Coca-Cola 600 at torsports in Charlotte Motor Speedway: 1985 with tri- No umphs in the Driver Car three 500-mil1 Darrell Waltrip Chevy ers Waltrip who 2 Sterling Marlin Olds once thought 3 Ken Schrader Chevy the feat impossible main- 4 Geoff Bodine Chevy tamed his hope 5 Bill Elliott Ford of making it 6 Mark Martin Ford happen a second time by 7 Neil Bonnett Ford rolling his 8 Brett Bodine Ford Chevrolet to 9 Bobby Hillin Buick the finish 99 seconds ahead 10 Ricky Rudd Buick of Sterling Marlin's Olds "Today was the key and now that we've turned it think we'll win Winston's money" Waltrip said Marlin said he thought he had a "real great shot" at beating Waltrip in a 33-lap dash to the finish after the last of seven caution periods tot 4-- 4--- 0-1 'se 1: 91 4 0 'N 1 -77 i -1 tlAY I 0 -4: q- im S7' '''77'''''''' mo 1- '41 LO :::1:: I 1 '''1'4': lir' l''''''14 0'4 VI 1 -9 isFA ''''8 4 t-4 'tk47c if3 s' -2 1 472' -'rhk :11 1 i'- ''I X3' 5-- 4 1:14 -'''''4' i-4 i 34 1 rt160! -'i -j: 4 ::4 :1::: 1 40ii 1:: 1 l' i 0::: '''4- -V: 64441 '-'147'''rff glot' k''' ite :::::::3: '''1V 148 t'' :7::::: Iti 10- 1 1 i 1 1- :::::1: I ir v--: ifi ii: i A Yit :44:: 3:: (': '7 1 7-: i 1: V' 1:::::::: i :41 Is 1 114 i'VE: 4drzT1777: -IA to4 Rusty is a good name for a faithful dog or a best friend It is not a good name for a bad guy But because Rusty Wallace bumped Darrell Waltrip's Chevrolet eight days ago Wallace has gone bad That was him on the stage at Charlotte Motor Speedway Saturday "B0000000" went the fans at the Champion Filter 300 when he was introduced Up went his arms Boo me more Wallace's gesture said That was him on the stage at the speedway Sunday "B0000000" went the fans at the Coca-Cola 600 when he was introduced Wallace did Pot need to throw up his arms The race attracted 161000 fans Some of them pointed down with their thumbs and up with their middle fingers This was their best opportunity to show him how they felt and they did Wallace ignored them walking across the stage as if he were part of a color guard But he heard And he was hurt The speedway will be cleaned in one day Wallace's image will need more time It might need years Racing fans do not have a visiting team to boo So they find a driver or drivers Geography doesn't make much difference although Yankees are scrutinized carefully The rules are simple Fans want their drivers humble and hard They can't have big mouths and they can't whine They have to be good And if they smack another driver a trial is held immediately And the fans render a judgment before they leave Wallace went into last Sunday's Winston a good guy He was Rusty as good as a faithful dog or a best friend He talked more than most drivers yes but fans liked his candor and his looks and the way he drove a car He was aggressive like Dale Earnhardt without being Dale Earnhardt Wallace had fewer dents in his Pontiac Fewer dents in his reputation too Then separated by two laps and one Waltrip from a Winston victory and $200000 he bumped Waltrip The bump wasn't much but it was enough Waltrip spun out of the lead and off the track Wallace won NASCAR rendered an immediate judgment Innocent it said Fans rendered an immediate judgment too They booed Wallace as See THE WEEK Page 511 "It looked like Darrell got a set of tires that tightened his car up" Marlin said "Then all of a sudden they came in" Ken Schrader finished third in a Chevy the only other driver on the lead lap Placing fourth through 10th a lap or more down were Geoff Bodine Bill Elliott Mark Martin Neil Bonnett Brett Bodine Bobby Hi llin and Ricky Rudd A heavy attrition rate among frontrunners made the race less frantic for Waltrip in the last laps Victims of mechanical failure included Wallace whose avidly anticipated rematch with Waltrip never developed although he led 22 laps Problems also put out the Ford of pole winner Alan Kulwicki who led 138 laps more than anyone before his engine failed on Lap 371 and the Olds of Harry Gant who led 50 laps Dale Earnhardt's engine failure after 223 laps cost him the Winston Cup point lead He fell from first to third 49 behind Waltrip now atop the standings Geoff Bodine is second 21 points down Waltrip opened the season by winning the Daytona 500 so he's assured of a consolation payoff of $100000 for taking two of the Big Four races even if he misfires in Darlington's Labor Day weekend race an event he never has won In getting Sunday's checkered flag before a standing room only crowd estimated at 161000 Waltrip gave Chevrolet's new Lumina model a first victory in See WALTRIP Page 5B Associated Press of the Ickey Shuffle Bengals after winning the Coca-Cola 600 at the Char Darrell Waltrip does his version originated by ickey Woods of the NFL's Cincinnati lotte Motor Speedway Sunday Langston Wins In NL Debut Fittipaldi Clears Track For Indy Win Unser Bumped Into Wall Out Of Lead In Last 2 Laps ''r: 2: 1 ::14 i :1: 71' Ni 1 VV ii 7:7 I Assotlated Press SAN DIEGO Mark Langston showed why so many teams wanted him by allowing four hits and striking out 12 over eight innings in his debut with Montreal on Sunday leading the Expos to a 10-2 victory over the San Diego Padres Langston (1-0) eligible for free agency after the season was acquired from Seattle on Thursday for pitchers Randy Johnson Brian Holman and Gene Harris after turning down the Mariners' $71 million three-year offer He was the subject of trade rumors involving the New York Mets Los Angeles Dodgers Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres In his first start in the National League Langston who was 4-5 with Seattle with 60 strikeouts also had an RBI single and scored a run Tim Wallach had three doubles and three RBIs and Tim Raines hit a three-run homer in support of Langston who lost his shutout with a run in the seventh Tony Gwynn walked and scored on consecutive singles by Jack Clark and Carmelo Martinez Langston also picked up his first major-league hit and RBI in the eighth when he singled home Spike Owen who had opened the inning with a double Box score Next Page laps of the 200 laps were left when Fittipaldi survived a deadly serious game of bumper cars at more than 200 mph After 197 miles that included the fastest laps the 500 has ever seen Fittipaldi and Unser found themselves virtually side-by-side going into the third turn of the 199th lap around the 212-mile oval Fittipaldi was on the inside all four wheels under the white line that is intended to separate the race track from the apron Unser was sandwiched between Elulpaldi and a slower car Fittipaldi moved up Unser down Their wheels touched Fit-See FITTIPALDI Page 3B Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS Emerson Fittipaldi bumped aside the new generation Sunday and won an Indianapolis 500 worthy of his dreams "What a race! What a race!" Fittipaldi exulted from Victory Lane after fighting off two scions of Indy legends first Michael Andretti then Al Unser Jr with the second-fastest Indy ever and few in the crowd of 400000 would dispute him "I cannot believe it I dreamed so much of this ever since I was a little boy" said Fittipaldi 42 a two-time Formula One champion from Brazil The final challenge from Unser Jr was not thwarted until I 12 Associated Press Emerson Fittipaldi On the wall with less than two laps Jr finds his place remaining at the Indy 500 Sunday It's clear sailing for (20) after Al Unser -I.