Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 26

Monday, June 8, 1998 Section INSIDE French Open Spaniard Carlos Moya defeats countryman Alex Corretja, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3, to win the French Open title. Page 2D. Golf, Page 3 Scoreboard, Page 6 Horse racing, Page 9 -www rmr irt i "iiMr 30clroit 4tcc Press A. I i. I Ji.

Bulls blow away Jazz, records, 96-54 iiMS All games at 8 p.m. Utah on the bubble? While the Chicago Bulls were bursting the Jazz's bubble, 96-54, in Game 3 of the NBA Finals Sunday in Chicago, Michael Jordan who helped chew up Utah's game worked on his gum in the third quarter. NBA FINALS Bulls lead series, 2-1. GAME RESULT 1 Utah 88, Chicago 85 (OT) 2 Chicago 93, Utah 88 3 Chicago 96, Utah 54 GAME SITE WHEN 4 Chicago 9:00 Wednesday 5 Chicago 9:00 Friday 6 Utah 7:30 Sun. June 14 7 Utah 9:00 June 17 if necessary All games televised by NBC (Ch.

4 in Detroit). GAME SITE, WHEN 1 Washington at Detroit, Tuesday 2 Washington at Detroit, Thursday 3 Detroit at Washington, Saturday 4 Detroit at Washington, Tuesday, June 16 5 Washington at Detroit, Thursday, June 18 6 Detroit at Washington, Saturday, June 20 7 Washington at Detroit, Tuesday, June 23 0 mi 1998 Detroit Grand Prix If necessary TVRADIO: All games on CBC (Channel 9 in Windsor) and on Fox (Channel 2 in Detroit). Games 2, 3, 4, 6 on ESPN. STANLEY PICKS: So, how do you think the Red Wings will do against Washington? Think they'll win? How many games? How come? We're looking for a few good readers' predictions. Fax your prediction to us at 1-313-223-4593 by noon today, and we'll run the best in our Stanley Cup preview section In Tuesday's Free Press.

By Perry A. Farrell Free Press Sports Writer CHICAGO There were nothing but sour notes from the Utah Jazz on Sunday night. Chicago's defense was so dominant in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, so quick, so lethal, that there appeared to be six Bulls defenders on the court instead of five in their historic 96-54 victory over Utah before a sell-out crowd of 23,844. "We got our a kicked in every facet of the game," backup Jazz center Greg Foster said. "That was it, plain and simple, to the point" Chicago leads the series, 2-1, with Games 4 and 5 still to come at the I 4 United Center.

Utah's total represented the fewest points ever scored in an NBA game, playoff or regular season lower than the 55 scored earlier this season by the Indiana Pacers and 17 fewer than the Finals record of 71 by Syracuse in 1955 vs. Ft. Wayne and Houston in 1981 vs. The Jazz totaled 21 field goals and scored 23 points in the second half, both Finals records. It was the largest margin of defeat in NBA Finals history, pushing aside the 117-82 pounding that Washington put on Seattle, June 4, 1978.

Please see NBA FINALS, Page 7D "I First came radio clearance from team owner Chip Ganassi. "Great job!" he told Zanardi, 31, whose win was his thrd this year and 11th of Zanardi's three-year CART career. "It might be worth a donut" Doing donuts using the accelerator, steering and brakes to spin the car is a Zanardi habit begun last year at Long Beach, after his five wins last year. And he declined to do any after wins this year at Long Beach and St. Louis.

But Sunday evoked awe. Thompson emulated Atlanta aces Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine after throwing twice between starts, he won with pitch location, not velocity. Clark's solo shot followed Bobby Higginson's solo homer in the eighth, and Thompson pitched a three-hitter in beating struggling NL 'Vl. At BETH A. corded fast 2.36-mile laps on a near-empty fuel tank.

After lap 25, Zanardi made a 12.5-second stop that got him out first one position ahead of Moore. "Well, Greg, I think, was really lucky at the beginning of the race," Zanardi said. "He hit the wall three times, and all three times got away with it So I think he got a sign from faith and he was having trouble with Please see GRAND PRK, Page 8D That's how it was as Clark unloaded in County Stadium the past two days and padded victory margins. His drive Saturday to the foul-pole side of the rightfield bleachers might have cleared the bleachers had it been aimed at them. Sunday, he hit a liner through a crosswind several rows into the centerfield KEISERAssociated Press Alex Zanardi, whose Reynard-Honda averaged 100.052 m.p.h.

Sunday, led a pack of foreign drivers across the finish line. HOW THEY FINISHED 1 ALEX ZANARDI Itnfy 2 ADRIAN Fernandez Mexico GIL DE FERRAN Brazil 4 DARK) FRANCHITTI Scotland GREG MOORE KJ Canada WHY DO DONUTS? Asked that question after Sunday's victory, Zanardi said: "I'm just crazy. You don't get the chance very often to abuse a $l-million car." More from Zanardi on Page 8D. ALSO INSIDE Adrian Fernandez finishes second after capitalizing on Greg Moore's long pit stop. See Pages 8-9D.

bleachers. Clark has hit six of his 11 homers this season in his past eight games, and although home runs can never be precisely measured, it's safe to say all six have gone at least 400 feet. "Unbelievable bombs," Higgin- Please see TIGERS, Page 5D Wings have a second line of defense, too BYJASONLaCANFORA Free Press Sports Writer Rage swells in Mike Modano's eyes. The Dallas Stars' offensive whiz is rolling on his back, wincing partly in pain, partly in frustration having run into Red Wings defenseman Ja-' mie Macoun again. Macoun and his veteran partner, Bob Rouse, were up against the best line the Stars had to offer and again stood their ground.

The Stars would not score in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals, and Rouse and Macoun had done their jobs again. They played strong, simple, rugged defense the kind that often goes overlooked. Rouse and Macoun have become the Red Wings' third and fourth de-fensemen their second unit without fanfare. They play upwards of 18 minutes a night, in all key situations. Against the likes of Modano, with the Wings a man down, in the closing moments of tight games.

Only Norris Trophy candidate Nick Lidstrom and future Hall of Famer Larry Murphy play more minutes and bear heavier responsibilities. Rouse and Macoun will be called on to bang bodies with the Washington Capitals' top forwards in tbe Stanley Cup finals, beginning Tuesday night at Joe Louis Arena. "Bob and Jamie's role is strictly Please see RED WINGS, Page 7D Vipers pull even in Turner Cup series, win 3-2 by Bill roose Free Press Sports Writer The message on the chalkboard in the Vipers' locker room before Game 4 of the Turner Cup finals read, "Win Ugly." It sure wasn't pretty, but it was more than effective for the Vipers, who scored the final two goals of Sunday's game to defeat the Chicago Wolves, 3-2, at the Palace. More important, the Vipers evened the series at two wins in front of 10,276. "Pretty wins beauty contests, it sure ain't going to win championships," Vipers coach Steve Ludzik said.

"We knew they were going to come out and hit us from the get-go. And that's the way it's going to be in the next game, too." The next game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Palace. Ludzik continued to tinker with his lines Sunday, putting center Jimmy Carson between Sylvain Cloutier and Phil Crowe. The trio accounted for all the Vipers' scoring.

"I don't think Ludzy was looking Please see VIPERS, Page 7D MlTW''ll'llllllliiiiiliMMiiitiinj ff---tr Tl-Mm. Ji -r BILL GRlMSHAW Associated Press; (top right) JULIAN H. GONZALEZDetrolt Free Press Alex Zanardi spins his Reynard-Honda in a 360-degree donut Sunday after winning the Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle. Zanardi performed three sets of donuts, he said, because he had done none after his two victories earlier this season. After smoking the field, Zanardi indulges in donut binge by Steve Crowe Free Press Sports Writer It ended in a huge cloud of smoke several, in fact and a baker's-dozen donuts strewn across the Belle Isle track in turns 1, 3 and 5.

Yes, defending CART FedEx series champion Alex (Road Runner) Zanardi was at it again after taking Sunday's Detroit Grand Prix by a formidable 6.624 seconds over second-place Adrian Fernandez. featured three different sets of donuts including seven burnt-rubber rotations in one set "I had to recover from the other two wins, when I didn't do it," Zanardi said of Sunday's victory binge. Until the first set of pit stops, it seemed destined to be a battle between Zanardi and Greg Moore, last year's Prix winner and Sunday's pole-sitter. Moore made a 12.2-sec-ond stop after 23 laps. But Zanardi stayed out two more laps and re newcomer Milwaukee, 4-1.

As St. Louis' McGwire chases Roger Maris' single-season home run record, his blasts are coming so often and going so far that they often become a game's most memorable feature, even if they don't affect the outcome and someone else has a standout game. Clark's homer steals show as Thompson three-hits Brewers By John Lowe Free Press Sports Writer MILWAUKEE Tigers stalwarts Tony Clark and Justin Thompson took interleague play to heart Sunday, assuming the personas of the most successful National Leaguers. Clark gave us the Mark McGwire act another long homer that i.