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Sports

Wednesday, June 3, 1998

Phils opt for Burrell


By RONALD BLUMAP
Sports Writer
NEW YORK, June 3 -- Finished with the Phillies, J.D. Drew
can now seek his riches with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The controversial outfielder, who demanded $10 million after
Philadelphia took him with the second pick last year, went
back into the draft Tuesday and was selected by St. Louis
with the fifth pick.

``Sometimes, you've got to step up and take a risk,''
Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said. ``We're going
to give it our best shot.''

Drew turned down a deal from the Phillies that would have
guaranteed him $3 million and given him a chance to earn $3
million more. The former Florida State outfielder played in
the independent Northern League last season rather than
sign.

Drew's agent, Scott Boras, is no stranger to St. Louis. He
and the Cardinals spent time during the offseason trying to
work out a $30 million, five-year contract for Andy Benes,
then saw the deal voided because the agreement came an hour
after the Dec. 7 midnight deadline.

Drew and Boras, who failed in their grievance to make the
outfielder a free agent before Tuesday's draft, have
threatened to file suit against baseball. But after talking
with Jocketty on Thursday, Boras didn't make threats.

Philadelphia used its first-ever No. 1 overall pick on Miami
third baseman Pat Burrell. But can the Phillies sign him?

``Based on recent history, no one will jump up and sign
right away,'' Phillies scouting director Mike Arbuckle said.
``It becomes a logjam until two or three players sign to
break it. It might take the better part of the summer, but
we feel it will get done.''

Burrell, 21, had a .432 average, 17 homers and 47 RBIs in
118 at-bats this season, going 2-for-3 in his last game as
the Hurricanes were eliminated from the College World Series
by Long Beach State.

``I really don't want to talk about it right now. All three
of us had our college careers end today,'' Burrell said,
referring to teammates Jason Michaels and Aubrey Huff, who
were taken in third round by Philadelphia and Tampa Bay,
respectively. ``It's really too much to think about right
now.''

With the ninth pick, San Diego took third baseman Sean
Burroughs of Wilson High School in Long Beach, Calif. He is
the son of former major leaguer Jeff Burroughs -- taken by
the Washington Senators with the No. 1 pick in the 1969
draft and the American League MVP with the Texas Rangers in
1974.

``We've always believed strongly in bloodlines, and he's got
good ones,'' Padres general manager Kevin Towers said.
``Sean's got a terrific arm, a great bat and a lot of
intangibles. He is a joy to watch and I'm going to be
excited to see him in a Padres uniform.''

Oakland used the second pick on Michigan State left-hander
Mark Mulder. The 6-foot-6 Mulder was 6-6 with a 3.40 ERA and
113 in 84 2-3 innings for the Spartans.

The Chicago Cubs then took outfielder Corey Patterson, who
hit .560 with 22 homers, 61 RBIs and 36 steals this season
for Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Ga.

Kansas City used the fourth selection on Stanford
right-hander Jeff Austin, 12-4 with a 3.11 ERA and 136
strikeouts in 133 innings. He had eight complete games in 18
starts.

Minnesota used the sixth pick on Arizona State left-hander
Ryan Mills. who pitched six strong innings Sunday in Arizona
State's 9-2 victory over Miami. Mills, whose father Dick
made two appearances with the Boston Red Sox in 1970, is 8-3
with a 4.32 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 108 1-3 innings.

Among those picked in later rounds were the sons of New York
Yankees outfielder Tim Raines and former Kansas City manager
John Wathan.

Tim Raines Jr., an 18-year-old outfielder from Sanford,
Fla., was taken by Baltimore in the sixth round.

``It's exciting to see him drafted,'' the older Raines said.
``It's the first step in what will hopefully become even
bigger things.''

Derek Wathan, a shortstop at Oklahoma, was picked in the
second round by the Florida Marlins.

Abila passed over first half of draft


PECOS, June 3 -- Pecos Eagles' senior Jason Abila remained
undrafted Tuesday, at the midway point of the major league
baseball amateur draft.

Abila has already signed with Ranger Junior College, but
Eagles' coach Bubba Williams said he had been told by the
Chicago White Sox they would select him sometime in the
draft, which began on Tuesday and continues today.

The draft lasts 50 rounds, 25 of which were held Tuesday.
Chicago did select several Texas players, including Baylor
pitcher Kip Wells, with the 16th selection overall and Gary
Majewski, a pitcher from St. Pius X High School in Houston
with their second round choice.

Majewski was among a number of high school players chosen,
though none in the early round were from West Texas. The
only area selections were both made by the New York Yankees,
who drafted Odessa College pitcher Bruce Delmas in the 18th
round and Odessa High pitcher Mario Gardea in the 25th
round. The Yankees also drafted the only District 4-4A
player last year, in Andrews pitcher Cody Klein.

Bulls want to play role of underdog


By BOB BAUM
AP Sports Writer
SALT LAKE CITY, June 3 -- The Chicago Bulls are underdogs?

Sure, and John Wayne was a wimp, Brigham Young was a
bachelor and Michael Jordan is broke.

As hard to fathom as it is, the NBA Finals begin tonight
with the unavoidable suspicion that the Bulls are beatable,
that the Utah Jazz can bring down the Chicago dynasty before
Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf gets a chance to do it.

``They beat us in our own building. They beat us here,''
Jordan said. ``They might be hungrier. There are a lot of
things that equate to the opportunities for Utah to win a
championship. There are a lot of things that we have done
that make people say, `Maybe it is Utah's year.'''

Jordan and Scottie Pippen are fanning the flames of that
unlikely fire. They are using the idea that Utah is the
favorite as a rallying point after their exhausting series
against Indiana for one last hurrah before Pippen and coach
Phil Jackson move on and, maybe, Jordan retires.

``It's a different feeling. We've never been in the
situation where we've sort of been written off,'' Pippen
said. ``It's a great feeling being the underdog because you
want to go out and prove everybody wrong.''

The Jazz say it's all baloney, that Chicago is the five-time
champion, a team that knows how to win at the ultimate level
of the sport.

This time, though, the Bulls will have to do it away from
home. Utah has the home-court advantage. Winless on the road
in the Eastern Conference finals, Chicago must win at least
once in the delirious din of the Delta Center to capture a
sixth crown.

Jackson has not joined in the underdog chorus.

``I think there's some sentiment for Utah because they've
got some guys who have been also-rans,'' Jackson said.
``They haven't been to the finals but once, last year, with
a team that's won a lot of games. I'm sure they've dreamed
about winning, but whether they're capable of doing it or
not remains to be seen.''

If he was to bet, he said, ``I'd probably bet on the Jazz --
if I didn't know anything about the Bulls.''

To a man, the Bulls point to Karl Malone as the dominant
figure in Utah's drive toward the title.

Chicago really has no one who matches up well with him. Luc
Longley, bigger and slower, will start out guarding him.
Dennis Rodman will get his turn.

In last year's finals, Brian Williams' defense off the bench
against Malone was a big factor in Chicago's six-game
victory. But Williams is gone.

``It's going to be tough. We're going to have to find some
matchups for Malone,'' Pippen said. ``He's definitely going
to be able to get out and run on our big men, especially if
Luc is guarding him, or Dennis, who wants to bang the boards
and be a rebounder.''

Fouls could be a big problem for the Bulls.

``It's really difficult to guard Karl Malone because the
slightest touch and you're going to get a foul,'' Rodman
said. ``Here in Utah, you don't get any calls at all.''

Rodman said it's up to him to take on Malone, even though
Jackson said Longley will be the Mailman's primary defender.

``The critical point in this series for me is I have to stop
Malone,'' Rodman said. ``I have to limit him to maybe 18-20
points a game for me to be effective.''

Whether Rodman will be back in the starting lineup after
being benched in the Indiana series is yet to be determined,
Jackson said Tuesday.

Jackson said he didn't like Rodman's energy level in
Sunday's game and that he would ``think long and hard''
before making a decision about the starting lineup.

``The one thing we have to do is we have to have a Dennis
Rodman rebounding and defending for us in this series,''
Jackson said. ``So whatever it takes, we'll reach an
accommodation in the next 24 hours.''

Malone said he's much more relaxed this year than he was in
last year's finals, when he pressed too hard to try to
justify the MVP award he had just won.

``It's not an excitement attitude. It's not a don't-care
attitude. It's kind of in between,'' he said. ``Sometimes it
seems like I play my best when I have that kind of
attitude.''

Malone gave himself a C-plus for his play in last year's
finals. He is pleased that Chicago is back to give him a
shot at a better grade.

``To have an opportunity to try to correct something that
you didn't finish last time, I'm glad,'' he said. ``I'm glad
to have an opportunity to play them again.''



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