The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 43

(The Charlotte (Tbs error Sunday April 21 1991 SECTION Hornets close with loss: lottery win ahead? is not a go-to guy for them Defensively we have weaknesses said Littles team predicates its game plan on what it sees as your weaknesses We feel Oakley should do that to The Hornets finished seven wins better than a season ago when they were shadowed from start to finish by firings resignations and controversy Was this improvement enough for Littles? think we should have been a little said Littles season obviously set us back 1 know there are three or four more we should have gotten would have liked to get to 29 or A look at the offseason Page 4D Box score Page 4D By RICK BONNELL Staff Writer NEW YORK Desperately seeking significance in the Charlotte seasonending 108-102 loss to the New York Knicks Saturday? Look at it this way: The loss combined with the New Jersey Nets' victory over the Miami Heat Saturday means the Hornets will have at least seven Ping-Pong balls in the draft-lottery hopper and possibly eight Root for the Nets to beat the Orlando Magic tonight thus closing the season with a 27-55 record above the 26-56 one more chance at a player who can help this team defend Knicks center Patrick Ewing Ewing have his usual 40 points against the Hornets he had 26 points and 12 rebounds but his passing skills came out in the fourth quarter when the Knicks put away Charlotte The Knicks took their first lead of the fourth quarter at 90-89 when Mark Jackson scored inside Hornets point guard Muggsy Bogues was forced to double-team Ewing leaving Jackson open for the reverse layup Ewing passed over the double-team a second time to get Jackson the ball for a 97-94 lead Then he hit consecutive 15-foot jump shots in the last two minutes 10 seconds for a seven-point lead that put it away Ewing finished with seven assists But label this game as a disaster far from it Though the Hornets played without starting center Mike Gminski (bruised right elbow) they led much of the game despite being outrebounded 61-39 Hornets coach Gene Littles liked that just as he liked the way the Hornets forced the Chicago Bulls to fight all the way in a 1 1 5-99 loss Friday Michael Jordan had to score 18 points in the fourth quarter Friday to hold off the Hornets though we lost those two said Littles forced them to use their superstars throughout the The Hornets would have had far better a chance to hold off the Knicks had New York power forward Charles Oakley not been so dominant early Oakley got the ball the first three Knicks possessions and had 10 rebounds in the first quarter alone He finished with 24 boards and it was obvious Charlotte starting power forward JR Reid do anything with him Love io front Baker-Finch closin Australian bears down on leader at Heritage Complete (cores page 5D By RON GREEN Staff Writer HILTON HEAD ISLAND SC When the third round of the Heritage Classic had ended Saturday Davis Love 111 was atop the leader board But most of that smoke lying across the Harbour Town Golf Links came from the glowing clubs of Ian Baker-Finch Love the 1987 Heritage champion added a three-under-par 68 to earlier rounds of 65 and 68 for a 201 total That gives him a three-shot lead over Baker-Finch going into final round where 1 million will be divvied up After it appeared he may not make the cut Baker-Finch is in line to collect a big chunk of that He opened with a 75 then shot 64 Friday and 65 Saturday Only Jack Nicklaus had ever put together two such rounds in this tournament Baker-Finch an Australian has made 17 birdies in his last 36 holes He shot 3 1 on the last nine holes at The Masters last Sunday and 33 on the only nine holes he played in pro-am because of rain He felt on top of his game but then came that 75 that left him in a nine-way tie for 97th worked out in the (fitness) trailer very hard on Wednesday and I was tired he said hit the ball well but I grinding it out I was a bit jaded gritted my teeth (Friday) I had missed the cut here the only two times played here and I want to miss it And birdies began to fly Nothing new he said been known for back home But he is also known for poor closing rounds a situation he hopes to remedy today by sticking with his recently developed plan to relax smile and enjoy his game no matter what Heritage gives Payne Stewart safe Harbour HILTON HEAD ISLAND SC If seen Payne wardrobe one hesitates to use the word you know not timid about poking around the outer limits If those knickers and that snap-bill cap and those horrid stockings and those shoes with gold-plated toes that he wears around golf courses are not the outer limits spare us what is beyond The style which he sort of popularized several years ago is not bad but the colors and designs done with an NFL theme because that league sponsors his sartorial splendor are sometimes painful to the eye His bold costumes necessarily represent a colorful personality a product in such short supply at least in public view on the Tour At least Stewart is different This weekend Stewart has been poking around another area where few have gone none in a long long time trying to win the Heritage Classic for the third year in a row Nobody going back to horse-and-buggy days has ever won one tournament four times in a row That was Walter Hagen who won the PGA Championship from 1924-27 Six others have won three in a row Willie Anderson US Open 1 903-05 Ralph Guldahl Western Open 1936-38 Gene Littler Tournament of Champions 1955-57 Billy Casper Portland Open 1959-61 Arnold Palmer Texas Open 1960-62 and Palmer again Phoenix Open 1961-63' It has been 28 years since the hat trick was accomplished In that time while the talent at the top has remained fairly static the depth of quality on the PGA Tour has increased enormously a lot tougher to repeat anything now than it was then We got a clear look at why on Saturday Stewart played the tough Harbour Town in 70 one under par but lost ground left and right And now his task is even more difficult five behind the leader Davis Love III with one round to go There are five people ahead of him and five tied with him bid for a threepeat was complicated by a back problem that sidelined him for two months The Heritage was his first tournament since the layoff and he get his clearance to play until Wednesday He came out not knowing what to expect from his rusty game With no burden of proof on him he breezed through the first two rounds with three-under-par 68s And kept talking about how much fun it was get upset about poor drives or missed he said things are irrelevant (this week) I express how excited I am just to be playing again Playing well is a He talks about how good it was that he could begin his comeback on a course on which so comfortable Funny a few years ago he despised the place He played the Heritage in 1984 tied for 48th won $1005 and said forget it He didn't like the condition of Harbour Town and he come back until 1 989 He came then only because the ultra-rich Nabisco Championship was going to be played on the same course later in the year and he wanted to re-familiarize himself with the layout He got so familiar he won the Heritage and 1 44000 and suddenly it such a bad place after all especially since it had been brought back to peak condition Then he finished second in the Nabisco losing a playoff to Tom Kite and collected $270000 And last year he came back and won the Heritage again and the payoff with $180000 $595005 he won on this course in only two years add to that this year Since he came back to Harbour Town in 1989 Stewart has played 15 rounds Ten of them have been in the 60s and none has been worse than par 7 1 Why does Stewart play so well on this course? one of the best of players and Harbour Town is an exacting layout that puts demands on every phase of the game a premium on the short game and his is strong take all of it for him to win today though attitude change whether I shoot 65 or he said Love meanwhile kept his attention on the task at hand "1 looked at the leader board but I pay much attention to he said just try to do the things I need to do and I know if I do them shoot a good score If I start thinking about other things not going to shoot a good Second-round leader Chip Beck never got it going Saturday despite calm weather and soft greens A 73 dropped him into a tie for third with Bobby Clampett (67) and Mark (68) at 205 US Open champion Hale Irwin two-time defending champion Payne Stewart and Lanny Wadkins head a list of six players at 206 Love one of the longer hitters on the PGA Tour manhandled the two par-5s on the front side scoring easy birdies But he bogeyed the par-5 15th with a wedge shot that kicked off the green He had six birdies altogether in an eventful round Chris Tucker shot his third 71 with three birdies three bogeys He played the last seven holes one under Charlotte native Greg Powers double-bogeyed the par-5 15th but still managed a 72 Kirk Triplett was a co-leader on opening day with a 65 but has since shot 75-76 and only three players have worse totals Associated Press Jack attacks Jack Nicklaus rolls in a birdie on his way to a Seniors Championship Nicklaus leads by 69 in third round of the PGA eight going to the final round Story Page 5D Looking for NFL talent? Carolinas players have it Brett Bodine back in front auain at North Wilkesboro NFL draft What: The 56th National Football League draft When: Today noon TV: ESPN will cover the draft from noon to 6:30 pm Vital statistics: All 12 rounds of the draft will be completed today and on Monday No round will begin after 9 pm today During the first two rounds each team will have 15 minutes to make selections Teams are allowed five minutes for each selection in rounds three through 12 Top players: According to the National Scouting Combine the seven top-rated players in the draft are: Ismail Notre Dame cornerback Todd Lyght Virginia receiver Herman Moore Miami receiver Randall Hill Tennessee offensive linemen Antone Davis and Charles McRae which the draft is supposedly short on ability the ACC expects to be well-represented again And the league's draftees are sticking A total' of 91 ACC alumni plaved in the NFL last year That compares with 132 for the Southeastern Conference a traditional football power And the SEC had two more schools than the ACC This time the scouts will likely start with Virginia wide receiver Herman Moore a lock first-rounder and rated among the top three wideouts in the land by most scouts NC State strong safety Jesse Campbell will go next He gave up his senior year to go after the NFL bucks and he should get plenty of Please see Draftpage 12D By STAN OLSON Staff Writer Time was the ACC was merely a region NFL scouts flew over on their way to see college prospects at Alabama or Tennessee or Georgia No more When the 1991 NFL draft kicks off from New York at noon today (ESPN) players throughout the ACC will be sitting next to their telephones urging them to ring Many phones will and a league that is turning into a legitimate football power will send another solid shot of talent on to the pros The ACC break any records It be like 1989 when a record 10 conference players were selected in the first three rounds But during a year in time for the second No 1 start of his career was 19357 seconds to 19368 for Kulwicki felt like be a contender for the pole although no one seemed to be paying much attention to Bodine said of his Kenny Bernstein-owned team led for only the third race this season by crew chief Wayne Bumgarner hated to talk about running good usually when you do that something happens tickled for everyone on our team Since the season started not a lot of positive things have happened for us but the guys stuck in there I feel we can repeat last win (Bodine's only Winston Cup victory) We finished Please see Racepage 10D By TOM HIGGINS Staff Writer NORTH WILKESBORO Brett Bodine will start First Union 400 from the same position he finished the race last spring at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the lead Bodine driving a Buick escaped the notice of most unofficial timers during Saturday practice for the Winston Cup Series time trials delayed from Friday by rain When it counted however Bodine clocked a lap at 116 237 mph to bump Alan Ford from the pole for the green flag at 1 pm (ESPN tape delayed until Monday at 8 pm) speed on the 625-mile track was 116171 More coverage Page 12D.