The Journal News from White Plains, New York • 23

OOTBALL HOCKEY BASKETBALL IS COLLEGES LOCAL SPORTS BASEBALL TENNIS (Thursday January 7 1999 THE MORNING BRIEING MIAMI ENDS ST JOHN'S WIN STREAK Ron Artest and Bootsy Thornton scored 17 points each for but the squad lacked its usual fire in an 84 79 loss to Miami DETAILS 6C The Auociotod Prwi Bootsy Thornton NHL 2C Devils 5 Rangers 2 lorida 2 Colorado 2 Ottawa 2 Detroit 0 Buffalo 3 Anaheim 2 OT Dallas 6 Vancouver 4 COLLEGE BASKETBALL 6C TOP 25 MEN No 1 UConn 91 Boston College 78 No 2 Duke 99 Georgia Tech 58 No 3 Cincinnati 87 DePaul 64 No 9 Purdue 70 Penn State 67 Miami 84 No 1 0 St John's 79 No 1 1 NC 72 lorida St 54 No 24 Wis 66 No 12 Midi St 51 No 1 4 Auburn 83 No 1 9 Ark 66 Northwestern 58 No 1 6 Minn 55 No 1 8 Kansas 66 Baylor 62 No 23 Okla St 64 Texas 59 TOP 25 WOMEN No 7 Texas Tech 93 Okla 69 No 20 Neb 90 Colorado 49 INSIDE ON MARK: Gimpy ankle or not Mark Bruncll is a strong armed quarterback with the ability to scramble On Sunday the Jets will be ready for him 3C GIANT IRING: Giants coach Jim first move of the offseason was to fire offensive line coach John Matsko He is expected to be the only coaching casualty 3C AT A GLANCE ARBITRATION CASES: Seven Mets and four Yankees are el igible for salary arbitration but filed The players have until Jan 15 to file and four days later the players and man agement will be able to exchange salary figures for a 1999 con tract rom eb 1 to eb 19 one day after the voluntary spring training reporting date each side will present its ar gument to an arbitrator who will then choose one of the fig ures All Star shortstop Derek Jeter and pitchers Andy Pet titte Mariano Rivera and Dan Naulty are tire eligible Yankees The eligible Mets are third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo short stop Rey Ordonez outfielder Roger Cedeno and pitchers Ar mando Benitez Jason Isringhausen Ilideo Nomo and Turk Wendell Jeter earned $750000 last season and considering Alex Rodriguez earned $21 million last year and Nomar Garciaparra signed a five year deal this sum jmer for $2325 million he can expect a decision of at least $35 million in his favor Sixteen game winner Pettitte ($375 million last year) and Rivera (36 saves for $750000) are also expected towin their cases which is why Yankees general manager Brian Cashman hopes to negotiate long term deals with each interested in that but it takes two sides to make a Cash man said want to do something but not at all JcOUCH READY TO GO: Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch jwill give up his senior year and make himself eligible for the NL draft and an expected multimillion dollar pay day early entry clears the way for the expansion Cleve land Browns to make the passing phenom the top pick in the 'draft Also heading to the NL are Ohio David Boston Kris arris and West Amos Zereoue To inorrow is the deadline for underclassmen to declare WHAT: Rangers at Capitals WHEN: 7 pm BEST BET TV: MSG RADIO: WAN 660 AM LEADERS: Rangers Wayne Gretzky (6 32 38) Mike Richter (13 13 5 264) Capitals RW Peter Bonara '(13 7 20) Olaf Kolzig (9 15 1272) INDEX BRIEING 2C TVRADIO LISTINGS 2C NHL 2C NL 3C NBA 4E5C COLLEGE BASKETBALL 5 6C" HIGHSCHOOLS 7 8C SCOREBOARD 8C TRIVIA Qo UCLA has had 33 a consensus first team All Americans in bas ketball Who was the first? ANSWER 2C Settlement saves season 45 MM 16 Sports The Journal News League plans 50 gamc season after ending six month stalemate MIKE DOUGHERTY The Journal News NEW YORK It was prob ably the first time during the lockout that anyone stayed up all night worrying about the NBA an apathy had already ex acted a toll and a vote by the Board of Governors to cancel the season was about to damage the game even further until union executive Billy Hunter called NBA commis sioner David Stem on Tuesday to try one more time The two worked after hours and by 6 a yesterday had put together a deal to end the six month lockout Details still have to be put on paper but this new collective bargaining agreement should put the players back on the court for an abbreviated sea son of about 50 games no later than eb 2 those proposals was met with any interest by the other side Apparently there was still some middle ground said New Jersey Nets point guard Sam Cassell who later tempered his enthu siasm about the deal Tm glad playing but not going to pop a bottle of Dom This six year agreement with a league option for a seventh does not make either side par ticularly happy but it is some thing both can live with The deal came as a surprise since both sides had put forth so called in the last two weeks Neither of had to do some thing to make it said for mer Knicks forward Charles Oakley who is now property of the Toronto Raptors a lot of people who lost money owners players whoever But got a deal so we have to put everything behind us and look Players lost more than $500 million in salaries and many were pressuring the union to accept the owners' proposal About half of the players as sociation was in town for what was to be a vote on whether or not they supported their exec utive decision to reject the last offer News of the early morning set tlement spread quickly and changed the mood as players entered the midtown law offices positive and we had a positive moment in a long Dallas Mavericks guard Steve Nash said would have been hard to can cel the The executive committee unanimously recommended the proposal be approved and the players ratified the deal by a 179 5 vote All nine members of the labor relations committee also voted for ap proval Instead of recommending the remainder of the season be canceled at NBA Board Please sec LOCKOUT 4C INSIDE local fans feel resentment toward players owners 4C El NBC Turner TV deals not impacted by dispute 4C Questions answers about the settlement 4C How the players owners each compromised 4C Talk of the towns 4C League fans await ip Jordan's decision 5C Team by team list of 1 who is under contract 5C BgV II 1 iVi ifliBBilb I Ma MSI Seth HarrisonThe Journal News Jessie O'Donohue was the first player off the bench and scored nine points in 25 minutes MM bIH Seth HarrisonThe Journal News Becky O'Donohue started last night and scored four points in 28 minutes Twins attract crowd to Draddy Gym Despite tough loss happy to return to area JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ The Journal News NEW YORK Papa Charlie was at Manhattan Draddy Gym yester day Mama Diane also was there About 35 more folks with ties to the O'Donohue twins Jessie and Becky were there too The supporters were out in force to watch the freshman twins lead their Nia gara basketball team against host Manhattan Unfor tunately for the Manhattan center Meredith Morse had team and career highs with 28 points and 17 re bounds to lead the Lady Jaspers over Niagara 78 64 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference contest Although the Lady Jaspers (4 7 1 2) sent the sisters home losers on the scoreboard yesterday had to be judged a success for those who have watched the Dobbs erry graduates since they be gan playing basketball for Our Lady of Perpetual CYO team as sixth graders very Charlie said "Some of their former AAU teammates are Even the president of the Ardsley based Our Lady of Perpetual Help CYO was in at tendance as were several young girls who are currently learning the sport in the pro gram After all the twins are the first OLPH play ers to earn scholarships to a Di vision I school great to have them Diane O'Donohue said get to see their friends and their friends get to see It however the first time the have watched their twins play for Niagara this season At least one parent has at tended all buttwo of 11 games this season While the seven hour trips from Dobbs erry to Niagara posed much of an obstacle Charlie and Diane had to miss trips to Miami and Cleveland miss them miss Charlie said just miss them When a basketball family you share so much And when gone you miss them one of the rea sons we wanted them to go to a MAAC school That way play some games close If yesterday was any indica tion trips to watch the twins are worth it Becky a 5 foot ll forward started and scored four points Please see TWINS 5C Devils show no mercy two goals leaci squad to fourth win over Rangers this season RICKCARPINIELLO The Journal News NEW YORK One of these days if the Rangers are really going to make a run at a playoff spot if they are ever going to get above 500 and stay there they will have to beat one of the elite teams That happened yet for the Rangers who fell back under 500 last night with a 5 2 loss to the Dev ils at the Gar den The Rangers were more competitive than they had been against the Devils for most of what is now an 0 94 regular season futility streak certainly better than they were in a one sided loss in New Jer7 sey Dec 16 But they still lost and lost a three game winning streak in the process Against the three teams considered the best in the conference the Devils Philadelphia and Buf falo the Rangers are 0 7 2 The Devils the best team rfi the East have won all four meetings this season got outplayed tremen dously in New Rangers coach John Muckier said get outplayed tonight at all It was I guess a mid term exam to see where we are They beat us They scored goals better than we scored goals But there were a lot pf things that were even a lot of things we did very well we still beaten them and therefore the barom eter is that we have to get a lit tle better to beat At even strength the Rangers have to get better to Please see RANGERS 2C Devils 5 Rangers 2 iimmiHi 1 iiiim mi By rescuing the game Stern has saved his good name Perhaps it hit him in the air space above Aspen or in the serenity of his Scarsdale den But somewhere somehowDavid Stern finally honoredhis intelligence He figured out he would be the biggest loser of all why there is a basket ball season this morning Yes the ballplayers were caving all over the court flying into New York in their manic state A most unsympathetic lot was for once a group its public could relate to The players were desperate terrified of yearlong unem ployment They were living the human condition wondering what fresh indigni ty their boss would heap upon them But it was epiphany more than the dread that saved the NBA from pro fessional suicide One day this week Stern woke up and saw a bully in the mirror lie started reading columns that con demned his tactics that fore cast a tattered legacy in event ofa canceled season Stem realized nobody would remember Billy role in this or Patrick role or Russ role He envi sioned an obituary leading not with his avuncular guidance of a sports and marketing marvel but with his stunning show of hubris at the most crit ical hour So he went on TV and spoke hopefully about a settlement Suddenly Khrushchev had be come Kissinger That final of fer Stern kept bludgeoning the union with so final He said he was willing to talk after swearing he was done hag gling He had Granik on the ra dio doing the same Then Stern ducked into an all night session with Hunter Eric leisher agent and son of the late great union chief Lar ry leisher had told people how the deal would go down was always one on one in the Eric would say dad and David having break fast and finally shaking Stern extended his hand be fore breakfast this time The games were on at 6 am one of his subordinates said yesterday very important to The union gave Stern a cap on individual salaries costing some stars tens of millions Next year Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury will have to settle for $9 million instead of the $20 million each would have commanded But the owners budged on IAN O'CONNOR Wjv their maximum salary de mands and gave the players better minimum wages and two salary cap exceptions we Hunter said guess we both Stern comes away with a de valued product barely dodging a cataclysmic event Before players filed into Manhattan to vote in support or defiance of their negotiating team agents were predicting possi ble fistfights between hard lin ers and their more anxious peers A source said a fearsome foursome of Shaquille Jayson Williams Hakeem Ola juwon and Anthony Mason was prepared to stand in unison and demand a vote on the own proposal Charles Oakley watching his $10 million do the slowest burn was said to be ready to confront any' man standing between himself and a paycheck Ewing included When Hunter did settle and the players did ratify by a 179 5 count David alk was said to be livid The agent for Ewing and friends can now only se cure a 5 percent raise for Michael Jordan who could be the ultimate killjoy within the next few days believe a fair as sessment of our 400 Stern had said say the league prosper with Michael Stern wasn't talking much for the record yesterday wait ing until his Board of Gover nors votes today before offer ing full comment He did say am elated that we will be play ing basketball this He has his reasons The most elementary charge of a commissioner is to ensure the ball is bounced Baseball football and hockey had all sur rendered games to labor strife Stem just joining the club he was trying to buy it He was threatening to become the first commissioner to junk an entire season At times during the lockout the players played the fool Said some dumb things Stern was feeling good about his cause He would go down as the man who returned sanity to the marketplace as the man who saved sport from itself But as deadline ap proached Stem began looking small and cruel The cominis sioner who would scream at people behind closed doors' demanding his way began showing this face in public Stern caught himself before it was too late He shook hands' with Hunter then met with the players after their vote Stern thanked them for their pa tience He told them Hunter' and Ewing had done a great job He said he wanted the NBA to go back to being a fam ily word circulating that the commissioner is due a reward from the owners in the millions But Stern do it for the money In the end he cut a for the sake of his good nameb lan is a sports columnist for The Journal News ijjj 4 NBA I Sil I 1.