Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California • Page 33

.0 ATHA3 To contact the sports department, please call 429-2440 after 4 p.m. Santa Cruz Sentinel IJJ- SPORTS NBA FINALS WEDNESDAY SPOTLIGHT LOVE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL A's batter Padres FOR OF Relaxed 76ers try to even series GAME THE Ex-major leaguer Urbani makes second career out of teaching kids By BERNIE WILSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN DIEGO Tim Hudson won his fifth straight decision, and Jason Giambi homered and drove in three runs as the Oakland Ath-! letics beat San Diego 5-2 Tuesday night, the Padres' 11th loss in 13 games. Giambi hit his 17th homer and an RBI double and drove in another run on a long pop foul. The A's Tuesday's result A'S 5, PADRES 2 Jason Giambi homered and drove in three runs for Iverson hopes team shares his confidence By ROB MAADDI THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PHILADELPHIA Allen Iverson playfully revved the engine, sped around the court on a utility cart, stopped near an entrance tunnel and greeted the Los Angeles Lakers upon their arrival for practice. If Iverson feels any pressure because the Philadelphia 76ers trail the Lakers 2-1 in the NBA Finals, the league's MVP didn't show any signs of it Tuesday.

improved to 4-0 against the Padres dating to last season. Hudson (7-3) hasn't lost since April 28, a 7-6 defeat to Today's game ATHLETICS AT PADRES TELEVISION: 7 p.m. (FSN) RADIO: KTOM-AM 1380 6 "I hope everybody confident. I am," Iverson said. After concluding his interview in the press room, Iverson returned to the court, saw reporters gathered around teammate It Iv.

I Aaron McKie, grabbed a I s2 microphone and jokingly I X'i asked questions until his IVERSON Rode around practice in golf cart Tuesday arm tired of holding the Iverson then left the court and emerged driving a cart with his right hand while dribbling a basketball with his left. He maneuvered through a crowd of reporters and cameramen on his way out, came back for another spin minutes later and parked near a tun- ft IV'' I "line ic uancia m- i I teredoffthe team bus. the New York Yankees. He allowed two runs, one" earned, on six hits in seven innings while strik-; ing out seven and walking one. Hudson was facing the Padres for the first time since making his major league debut here on June 8, 1999.

He pitched five innings in that-game, striking out 11 and hitting a single, but' got a no-decision as Oakland lost 5-3. San Diego's Mark Kotsay went 3-for-4, with a solo homer, RBI double and single. He flied out to left in his final at-bat, and the Padres still haven't had a player hit for the cycle in their 33-year history. Woody Williams (5-6) lost his third straight start, allowing three runs on six hits in seven innings. Jason Isringhausen pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save.

Giambi homered deep into the right-field seats on a 1-2 pitch with two outs in the first. San Diego tied it 1-1 in the bottom of the inning. Rickey Henderson reached on shortstop Miguel Tejada's fielding error and scored on Kotsay's double. Giambi's younger brother7Jeremy, hit an RBI single with two outs in the second for a 2-1 lead. The A's made it 3-1 in the third when Johnny Damon scored on Jason Giambi's pop foul that third baseman Phil Nevin caught over his shoulder, well down the line.

Bonds hits home run No. 33 as Giants win yvc uujjcu lie wuuiuii i crash out, man," Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said. "He was going pretty fast. He cut the corner going pretty fast." While Iverson showed he O'NEAL Says he respects 76ers foe Mutombo Bill LovejoySentinel photos Former major league pitcher Tom Urbani works on the grip for a change-up with a student at the Sport About batting cages. By BEN McMORRIES Sentinel Staff Writer State.

To this day, the Long Beach State baseball team goes by the nickname "the Dirtbags." And Urbani knows why he was one of the original Dirtbags. "When I was at Long Beach they were building new baseball facilities, so we had to practice on this dirty and dusty little practice field off campus," Urbani said. "The nickname stuck to us." Even after his playing days were over, Urbani wanted to be SANTA CRUZ If baseball is a game of dreamers, that's exactly what Tom Urbani wants to be. Urbani, who spent the better part of five seasons pitching in the major leagues first for the St. Louis Cardi- 5 Iff imf.

I i involved with 1 fei'K was loose on the eve of Game 4, Sixers coach Larry Brown was figuring out who will be available to play tonight. Small forward George Lynch, sidelined with a broken left foot since May 13, will be in uniform for the first time since Game 4 of the conference semifinals against Toronto. But Brown doesn't know how long he'll be able to go. Lynch would back up Jumaine Jones at small forward and could see time at power forward in place of Tyrone Hill, who-has been ineffective in this series. "I'm dressing and hopefully he'll put me in," Lynch said.

"I'm hoping he won't have to put me in, that we're up 10 the whole game." The Lakers are looking to take away any hope the Sixers have left after three, grueling, down-to-the-wire finishes. A victory Wednesday practically clinches a second straight championship for Los Angeles. A loss gives the Sixers all the momentum heading into Friday's Game 5. "I think it's very pivotal," Lakers guard Derek Fisher said. "They can either tie the series or we can go up 3-1.

For both teams, it's a life or death situation." Philadelphia has been in this position in each of the last two series and responded by winning Game 4 on the road both times. "There's a lot of pressure on us," said McKie, who needed intravenous fluids to combat fatigue the last two days. "It's important we get this win because we know we're a good road team and we can win in their arena." The Lakers, however, haven't lost on the road in the postseason. At 6-0, Los Angeles is one victory shy of the record for consecutive road wins set by the Houston Rockets in 1995. -Also, the Lakers are 13-1 in the playoffs, and i Please see NBA FINALS on Page D2 nals from 1993-96 and then for the Detroit Tigers in 1996 has always known his passion for baseball would determine the direction of his life.

'I love helping kids get better. I could be totally down, but if you see me after four hours of lessons, I'm uplifted. I feed off the Tom Urbani, former major league pitcher baseball. "Career-wise, I want to find out if I have what it takes to make a living teaching baseball to kids," Urbani said. By GREG BEACHAM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN FRANCISCO Barry Bonds-tbok another step on the fastest home run pace in baseball history with his 33rd homer as the San Francisco Giants beat the Anaheim Angels 3-2 Tuesday night.

Kirk Rueter (7-6) allowed five hits and a run in seven innings to win his third straight start. Rueter also had "Baseball is what I really want to do. Most recently I've been giving one-on-one lessons to kids at Sport About in Capitola and at Harbor High." After the 1996 season, Urbani started working a 9-to-5 job, selling sporting goods. It wasn't long before this new line of work got to him. So when an Italian baseball franchise called Please see SPOTLIGHT on Page D2 Looking back through the years, the influence the sport has had on the 33-year-old's life is plain to see.

"I started playing T-ball when I was 7 in 1975," Urbani said, "and have basically been involved ever since." After a successful career at Harbor High, Urbani played two seasons for Cabrillo College before spending the next two years at Long Beach ..1.1: Tom Urbani is shown here as a member of the 1993 St. Louis Cardinals. Tuesday's result GIANTS 3, ANGELS 2 Kirk Rueter allowed just five hits and one run in seven innings for the Giants. Today's game ANGELS AT GIANTS TELEVISION: 7 p.m. (No TV) RADIO: KNBR-AM 680 TICKETS: Call (510) 762-BALL, or visit www.sfgiants.com 1 an RBI single, but the spotlight was on Bonds, who homered in his fourth straight home game.

Bonds' 527th career homer came on the first pitch he saw from Anaheim righthander Pat Rapp (1-7) in the first inning. Woods: a study in preparation Tiger works on game, while others work to catch up 'm' "mm, U.S. Open FIRST ROUND, THURSDAY TELEVISION: 9 a.m. (ESPN), noon (NBC), 2 p.m. (ESPN) It was hit very hard, but low, and the solo shot barely cleared the walkway on top of the right-field fence before landing in the water of McCovey Cove.

Bonds, who hit the longest homer in Pacific Bell Park's history on Thursday before going homerless in a three-game weekend series at Oakland, has 33 homers in the Giants' first 64 games. Mark McGwire hit 33 in the St.Louis Cardinals' first 70 games in 1998. Bonds has homered in six of his last 11 games andl4ofhislast22. In front of 36,422 fans the smallest crowd in Pac Bell's history the Giants opened a homestand with a win over the Angels, who lost for just the third time in il games. San Francisco beat Anaheim for the ninth time In 14 meetings since interleague play began in 1997.

Calvin Murray also had a solo homer in the fifth for San Francisco, while Rueter was dominant. By DOUG FERGUSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Qkla. Forget about the power and the precision, or even the deadly touch around the greens. The success of Tiger Woods can be traced to what he did the week before the U.S. He wasn't on a golf course, but on a river In Utah, fly fishing with Mark O'Meara.

Once a novice with a fishing rod, Woods was casting like a pro with nearly flawless loops. "He kicked my butt," O'Meara said Tuesday. "He doesn't like to loseiat anything." What amazed O'Meara was not so much the competitive nature of Woods, but how much he mastered in such a short time since they first started fly "He Is an'expert at processing information," O'Meara said. "He.takes in only, what can make him better and manages to discard the.old. He always wants to learn how to get better." That explains why Woods decided to rebuild his swing, step by step, after winning the Masters by 12 strokes.

That explains why the best player in the world spends more quality hours refining his swing instead of celebrating where that swing has brought him. And that explains why Woods arrived at Southern Hills as such an overwhelming favorite that oddsmakers have turned this U.S. Open Into Tiger against the field. "Would I put money on me? Probably not," Woods said. "Just because I don't think it would be a good business decision with those odds." 'i Then he paused, sensing his remarks could be interpreted the wrong way.

"Now, do I like my chances? Ves, I do." The Associated Press Tiger Woods, according to Mark O'Meara is 'an expert at processing information. He always wants to get What's not to like? The only tournament Woods has failed to win in the last three -months was the Byron Nelson Classic, when he returned from his longest layoff of the year and showed signs of rust. He closed with a 63 and tied for third. Please see U.S. OPEN on Page D2 3.