Tri-City Herald from Pasco, Washington • 15

-i FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29 1991 TRI-CITY HERALD B1 Chinook sweeps Bandits By JEFF MORROW Hrtedtefl writer second technical fouL said Birmingham Coach Morris McHone all of this double- and triple-teaming has got Michael frustrated going to have to learn to live with it kept his composure all season but he lost it McHone came away impressed with TinUe and Usevitch think their two inside guys played McHone said weird to see a 7-0 score up there because we could have won this game Each quarter was a winnable Once again Hayes got strong play from his bench of Clifford Scales Willie Simms and Harold Wright Scales' jumper with 2:03 left in the first quarter clinched the quarter point as the Chinook led 31-27 Donald Royal had 10 points in the quarter and Usevitch dominated the boards with eight rebounds In the second quarter the Bandits led 25-19 with 2:43 to play when Scales Simms and Wright put pressure in the frontcourt to force turnovers Simms scored seven straight points in that stretch and Calvin flying layup with 24 seconds left gave Tri-City a 28-27 quarter win and a 59-54 halftime lead Tinkle and Usevitch combined for 19 points and seven rebounds in the third quarter to lead the Chinook to a 32-29 quarter point win but it was a comeback in the final minute that keyed the fourth quarter win Led by Marvin 11 fourth-quarter points the Bandits held a 21-19 lead with 54 seconds left in the game But Scales hit a free throw with 41 seconds left and the Bandits convert at their end With a frill-court press in their face the Chinook guards quickly broke it and hit Usevitch down the left side was kind of surprised they pressed Tinkle said we broke the initial front line it was three-on-one I was surprised how quick and easy we broke Usevitch drove to the basket then quickly dished off to Tinkle on the right for the decisive layup that clinched the quarter win and the sweep with 17 seconds left The victory sets the tone for the upcoming four-game road trip that starts Saturday in Sioux Falls confidence is really high Usevitch said Tinkle finished with 28 points and 15 rebounds while Usevitch added 20 points and 13 boards Duncan had 15 points eight rebounds and seven assists Wayne Tinkle and Jim Usevitch brought Michael Ansley back down to earth on Thanksgiving Tinkle and Usevitch along with their Tri-City Chinook teammates combined to stop the high-scoring Ansley and defeat the visiting Birmingham Bandits 113-104 for the first 7-0 sweep in Continental Basketball Association action Tri-City is now 7-4 and has 445 standings points to lead the National Conference Northern Division Ansley who played last season for the Orlando Magic came into the game as the leading scorer at 341 points and the No 2 rebounder at 108 more Ansley had a league-high 50 points against the Yakima Sun Kings on Wednesday night With the 6-10 Tinkle covering the 6-7 Ansley Chinook Coach Steve Hayes had 6-9 forward Usevitch helping out constantly on double teaming Ansley It worked as Ansley scored just 22 points before being ejected from the game with his second technical foul with 5:22 to play in the game Next home game: Dec 7 7:35 pm vs Tulsa "We had him Tinkle said had a real good game plan Ansley had to prove he was a good In a 102-100 win over the Bandits Nov 12 Ansley scored 38 points against the Chinook The difference this time said Hayes was who was doing the double-teaming time we had one of the guards trapping like all the other teams Hayes said just dished out to the open guard and they hit their outside shots This time we used our big men to trap and forced their big guys to hit the Ansley ended up with just one assist in the game before referee Lennie Watson ejected him in the fourth quarter for picking up a HeraldJay Judy Tri-City Chinook's Wayne Tinkle left blocks a shot by Birmingham's Jim Farmer as Jim Usevitch of the Chinook lends a helping hand The Chinook won 113-104 their third win in a row Si -v 'O'wkT A VvC- -W f- 1 Cowboys corral feelers Lions win tie Bears in NFC Central PONTIAC Mich It was a game of hard hits and turnovers It was the kind of game the Chicago Bears usually win Only this time it was a rare display of Chicago turnovers and the Detroit Lions did what the Bears have become famous for They made them pay The Lions took advantage of six mistakes and tied the Bears for first place in the NFC Central with a 16-6 victory Thursday played one of the better games I can remember us playing in the time been Lions Coach Wayne Fontes said playing Chicago-style ball the last few weeks playing very good defense getting ahead and then seeing if the other team will make some The Lions (84) who have won all nine games played indoors this season could produce only 208 yards on offense But their defense intercepted four of Jim passes and recovered two fumbles hurt us like Bears coach Mike Ditka said the worst thing ever seen in the history of football play well Just look at the mistakes we made We took points away from ourselves and what Fontes upset Chicago which lost its second straight game rolled up 319 yards and controlled the ball 33:50 But the Bears who entered the game with just 22 turnovers all season overcome the mistakes a copout to score six Ditka said guys are paid to play and focus on football and we Erik Kramer threw a 8yard scoring pass to Robert Clark in the first quarter and Eddie Murray kicked three field goals the final one from 37 yards with 2:50 left to pace the Lions other field goals were from 21 and 50 yards Barry Sanders who ran for 220 yards and four touchdowns four days ago against Minnesota was held by the Bears to 62 yards on 19 carries feels good to be where we are right Fontes said this game puts us in the division race not the playoff race We have the chance to win our Kevin Butler kicked field goals of 27 and 22 yards for Chicago but missed a 37-yarder early in the fourth quarter when Detroit was leading 186 IRVING Texas (AP) Steve Beuerlein paid his second big dividend on Jimmy dirt cheap quarterback insurance policy Beuerlein obtained from the Los Angeles Raiders in August for a 1992 fourth-round draft pick and subbing for an injured Troy Aikman hit Michael Irvin with a key 66-yard touchdown pass in the fourth period It helped Dallas to a 20-10 victory Thursday over the Pittsburgh Steelers keeping the Cowboys in the thick of NFC playoff chase did just a great job filling Johnson said executed the game plan make any turnovers then hit the big Aikman sustained a knee injury last week against Washington that will sideline him at least three weeks Beuerlein came on against Washington and threw a touchdown pass to Irvin in a 24-21 victory did 8 fantastic job and the more we work together the more make things Irvin said The Cowboys (85) are in a favorable position in the wild- card race The Steelers (88) were virtually eliminated from contention in the AFC Irvin caught eight passes for 157 yards but none 1 was more spectacular than the touchdown pass Beuerlein making his first NFL start in two years found Irvin cutting across the middle and hit him perfectly in stride Safety Gary Jones missed a tackle and then Irvin shook off cornerback Rod Woodson at the 18yard line to score standing up made the said Beuerlein who was operating on a sprained left ankle (Irvin) beat the safety to the ball was hoping he would get there first the kind of play you expect him to make and the kind of play we needed to break the game Dallas led 1810 when Beuerlein hit Irvin on third-and-10 knew the safety (J ones) wanted to put a big hit on Irvin said just caught it and took The Steelers trailed 180 at halftime but came back on Gary 48yard field goal and a 8yard scoring run by Warren Williams with 7:54 to play Up to the Beuerlein-Irvin connection the Cowboys had only a 43-yard field goal by Ken Willis Associated Press Dallas linebacker Ken Norton trips up Pittsburgh running back Merrill Hoge during Thursday's NFL game The Cowboys beat the Steelers 20-10 Dallas is now 8-5 while Pittsburgh drops to 5-8 Houston Oilers They threw us some Dallas drove sharply 51 yards to a touchdown on its first possession with Emmitt Smith providing most of the offense He rushed for 33 yards on the drive and caught a pass for eight more yards Smith got four yards on fourth-and-1 from the 18yard line then scored from six yards out on the next play Smith finished with 109 yards on 32 carries A high snap by Pittsburgh center Dermonti Dawson gave the Cowboys a gift field goal to make it 180 Dallas got the ball on the 27 and drove to the Pittsburgh 1 where linebacker Jerrol Williams stopped Smith cold for no gain on consecutive plays Willis then kicked an 18yard field goaL Dawson gave Dallas a chance with another bad snap in the first period at the Pittsburgh 15 But Beuerlein was sacked twice before Willis missed flrom 45 yards Williams also blocked a 47-yard field goal attempt by Willis just before the end of the first half in the second half Willis missed three field goal attempts Pittsburgh coach Chuck Noll said the touchdown pass was players making a good play It could have been a big play in the other Noll said the Steelers just make the big he said could make all kind of excuses about it being a short week but we But our young team played hard" Beuerlein hit 14 of 25 passes for 217 yards Neil was 17 of 36 for 167 yards (Beuerlein) did a great job when you consider he even practice Monday because of his Johnson said Beuerlein started 15 games for the Raiders and was 87 made some good plays and some bad Beuerlein said got to remember these are the same guys who shut down Warren Moon and the Proposal would allow to move if support falls An independent appraisal released Tuesday valued the team at $100 million if it stayed in Seattle A value for the team if moved to another city was not given Tampa-SL Petersburg Fla which has constructed the Suncoast Dome in anticipation of receiving a major league franchise has been mentioned as a potential new home for the Mariners Smulyan is essentially locked into Seattle at through at least the 1992 season unless the county relaxes the Kingdome lease King County and local businesses sponsored a massive ticket over three years The committee was to present Smulyan with the package by Thursday but is seeking up to two or three more months to meet the goal Smulyan said he would want something in return for that time The Times reported That something could be an end to legal threats by King County attorneys if the financially troubled Mariners seek a richer market recognition the business community needs more Smulyan told the Seattle Pdst-Intelligencer a recognition that maybe we can end the whole notion of litigation once and for all" As of this week the committee had raised between $4 million and $5 million of the $13 million target for the first year the P-I reported Smulyan has said he has lost close to $20 million since buying the team for $775 million from George Argyros two years ago He predicts he will lose $85 million in 1992 without new revenue buyout last season to ensure Smulyan would not be able to trigger an attendance-tied escape clause in the lease The deal proposed Wednesday would have the county waive its rights under the lease if the fundraising efforts foil The Seattle Times said But Smulyan expressed optimism about booster efforts saying is a feeling among a lot of people that we are making Smulyan said the team business and government leaders are beginning to come together on specific ideas SEATTLE (AP) A proposed deal between Seattle Mariners owner Jeff Smulyan and King County would allow the franchise to move if efforts to boost its revenues fall short according to published reports The proposal was presented to county executive Tim Hill by Smulyan and Mariners lawyers on Wednesday The Seattle Times said citing unnamed sources close to the talks A committee headed by former Seattle Seahawks part-owner Herman Sarkowsky is attempting to boost business and other support for the team by $13 million a year.