The News Tribune from Tacoma, Washington • C1

SPORTS 135TH BRITISH OPEN Big Unit? No big deal KATHY WILLENS Associated Press Yuniesky Betancourt chases down a hit by Alex Rodriguez on Wednesday. Hargrove beams after Seattle ends with win SONICS WELCOME? An Oklahoma City columnist says saying goodbye to the Hornets will be tough, but the Sonics would be a good fit. C4 BONDS WATCH II With his personal trainer set to released from prison today, Barry Bonds, above, waits for the grand next move. C5 BAD DAY FOR LANDIS American Floyd Landis says he expect to win the Tour de France after falling more than eight minutes behind. C10 Rainiers C3 WNBA.

C4 INSIDE Scoreboard C9 Weather C10 BRING ON THE BRITISH Vijay Singh, above, a winner of three major championships, goes after a fourth when the British Open begins today at Royal Liverpool (7 a.m., TNT). Colin Montgomerie is without a major to his credit and is coming off a final-hole collapse that ruined his chances at the U.S. Open in une. Still, the links-tested Montgomerie is considered one of the pretournament favorites. STORY ON PAGE C8 TV TIMES: Today and Friday, 7 a.m.

(TNT, tape delayed); Saturday, 6 a.m. (Ch. 4); Sunday, 5 a.m. (Ch. 4) Flashing a their manager appreciates, the Mariners beat Randy Johnson and the Yankees to end a 2-4 road trip.

BY LARRY LARUE The News Tribune NEW YORK When a team staggers home from a losing road trip, the best it can do is rally around the character issue. On Wednesday, the Seattle Mariners talked about character and resilience, about the direction the team is going in and they simply trying to spin a 2-4 trip. lost three extra-inning games, we lost a tough one (Tuesday) night we should have won and we could have mailed it first baseman Richie Sexson said. game after a long night game, last day of the trip against a Hall of Fame pitcher. we have a attitude here.

And we ground it out Seattle scored three times against Randy Johnson once on home run and held on to beat the New York Yankees, 3-2. It was, as Sexson said, a grind. admire these guys, and I told them that manager Mike Hargrove said. been a tough, tough trip, and our guys have shown up every day prepared to win, prepared to play hard. reality is J.J.

Putz and Rafael Soriano should have had the day off today, MARINERS 3, YANKEES 2 FRIDAY Boston at Seattle, 7:05 p.m., FSN, 1000-AM Adam Jones is victim of a clubhouse prank after his first two career hits. C7 Please see MARINERS, page C7 NORTHWEST NATIONALS When: Friday through Sunday. Where: Pacific Raceways, Kent. Schedule: Friday Sportsman qualifying and eliminations begin at 9:15 a.m. Professional qualifying sessions are at 3:30 p.m.

and 6 p.m. Saturday Sportsman eliminations begin at 9:15 a.m. Professional qualifying sessions are at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Sunday Pre-race ceremonies begin at 10 a.m., with professional and sportsman eliminations starting at 11 a.m.

TICKETS Reserved seating: For adults is $40 Friday, $53 to $55 Saturday and $55 to $58 Sunday. For juniors (ages 6-12), $15 Friday, $20 to $22 Saturday and Sunday. For children (ages 5- and-under), $5 Friday and $10 to $12 Saturday and Sunday. General admission: For adults, $35 Friday, $43 Saturday and $45 Sunday. For juniors, admission is $10 all three days.

For children, admission is free. All tickets include pit passes. NHRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS DREW PERINE News Tribune Brad Hadman puts in a few 18-hour days building chassis for some of the best drag racers in the country at his Performance Metals shop in Fredrickson. The Hadman touch Brad shop near Puyallup builds dragsters for some of the best drivers in the country. Drivers who want to win after a McKinney car or one of Hadman says.

BY TODD MILLES The News Tribune Two crew members for Top Fuel driver J.R. Todd inspected a new dragster chassis at Brad shop near Puyallup on Tuesday afternoon. Every detail, every measurement was written down on a yellow legal pad by Hadman, one of the top chassis makers in the country who receives much of his business from National Hot Rod Association teams. After Tony Schumacher drove a Hadman-built car to the world points championship in 2005, crew chiefs from every corner studied work. One crew member asked Hadman if he could recall a minute specification on a dragster he built for veteran driver Cory McClenathan two years ago.

Rifling through his mental catalogue, Hadman came up with the answer in seconds. Hadman, 49, considers it his job to remember the finest details of what goes into the making some of the most powerful vehicles. He learned his craft under Al Swindahl, the legendary builder who died of cancer in 1997. Hadman started his own business almost two decades ago, making his name first in the sportsman class by building an Alcohol Funny Car for Pat Austin and an Alcohol Dragster for Blaine Johnson that set national elapsed time and speed records. first Nitro-fueled car was built for Funny Car racer Jim Epler.

But he made his name building dragsters. His list of customers reads like a who of the sport: Gary Scelzi, Schumacher, McClenathan, Melanie Troxel, Morgan Lucas and Clay Millican. now, got two new (cars) on order, and three that are waiting to be Hadman said. is the same as always been. If you want to go for a world championship, you either go after a (Murf) McKinney car or one of As if business hectic enough, especially in the peak period between September through March, the NHRA ordered a mandatory safety change for the back end of dragster structures for the 2006 season.

The new rule required that all tubing on the steel alloy chassis, from the seat to the back end, had to be heat-treated to strengthen the frame. So while Hadman and his crew of 10 attempted to fill orders for 20 to 30 new cars at $60,000 apiece they had the headache of having to wait about Please see NW NATIONALS, page C4 TACOMA DOME POSSIBLE HOME Pro lacrosse considering Tacoma for a team Former Seahawks executive Bob Whitsitt heads an effort to bring a franchise to the Puget Sound area. BY ERIC D. WILLIAMS The News Tribune While the Seattle SuperSonics could be headed to new digs, another pro sports league is looking to establish a team in the Puget Sound area. Representatives of the National Lacrosse League were in Tacoma on Wednesday to meet with representatives of the Tacoma Dome, and are looking for a prospective home for a new franchise in the Puget Sound region.

The group also met with KeyArena officials Wednesday afternoon to discuss the possibility of relocating there. A familiar face in the Seattle sports landscape former Seattle Seahawks and Sonics front-office executive Bob Whitsitt is taking the lead locally to secure a lacrosse franchise. you would have asked me five or six years ago, I have known much about lacrosse, but I began following it and just got Whitsitt said. exciting and fun to watch, and the fastest growing sport in the country at the high school Whitsitt and wife Jan would be the lead investors, and they would look to bring other investors on board, he said. Currently, the couple is searching for building availability in the Puget Sound area, along with establishing a business plan and looking at market projections for a new franchise.

Since leaving the Seahawks, Whitsitt said he has been focused on his company, Whitsitt Enterprises a business consulting firm based in Seattle. Whitsitt said he would like to have his team, if offered a franchise by the league, up and running by 2008. Whitsitt Please see LACROSSE, page C4.