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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas

Sports

Monday, July 6, 1998


By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, July 6 -- Well before Trevor Brazile made a name for
himself on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association tour
he had staked out a place in the books at the West of the
Pecos Rodeo.

The Decatur, Tx., cowboy was just a month out of high
school back in 1995, when he won the all around title at the
113th edition of the West of the Pecos Rodeo. Last week,
Brazile returned to Pecos ranked second to Ty Murray in the
overall race for all-around honors, and helped his cause out
Saturday by again claiming the all-around title at this
year's West of the Pecos Rodeo.

Brazile pocketed over $8,000 by placing in all three
go-arounds in steer roping and fourth in the average with
J.P. Wickett in team roping.

"It's been a lot better this year. The Lord's really
blessed me this year," said Brazile, who -- like many other
cowboys -- competed in several rodeos over the July 4
weekend.

"I didn't do as real good anywhere else. I won a little
here and there," he said. "But Pecos has been good to me.
I've won money here every year."

Brazile finished fifth in the first go-round of steer
roping on June 29, then placed third the following day under
muddy conditions in the second go. Saturday night, his 13.1
time again was fourth, and the combined three round time of
36.3 seconds was good enough to give him second place
overall, behind 12-time world's champion Guy Allen.

"It was a lot easier (Saturday)," Brazile said of the arena
conditions, while adding, "The ground soaked it up pretty
fast, so it wasn't really that bad."

"The committee does good work and Mack (Altizer, Bad
Company Rodeo producer) does a good job putting this
together every year. It's a real enjoyable experience to
come here."

In team roping, Brazile and Wickett moved up to third in
the average by winning Saturday's short go with a 7.7 second
time. It gave them a combined 30.3 time for their three
rides. Rowdy Reiken and Shawn Darnell, the first go-round
winners, also won the average with a 23.9 time, and placed
second on Saturday at 8.3 seconds. The win was worth
$4,772.07 to each cowboy.

Meanwhile, Allen followed up his sixth place finish last
Monday in steer roping by winning the second go-round on
Tuesday. He then took second behind Abilene's Jim Davis in
the final go Saturday night, and his combined 35.7 second
time was a new record for the Buck Jackson Rodeo Arena.

Allen and Brazile were among a number of familiar names to
come away winners in the roping competition.

Tee Woolman placed second in the all-around competition,
earning $3,361.67 in steer roping and team roping. He tied
for second in the first go-round of steer roping and then
was sixth in the second go, before running into problems on
Saturday night. Earlier, he and partner Tyler Mangus were
fifth overall in team roping at 34.3 seconds, and were third
in Saturday's competition, with a 9.1 time.

Former world champions Jake Barnes and Clay O'Brien Cooper
were second in the average, at 25.6 seconds, and finished
fourth on Saturday, with a 9.2 second effort.

Last year's all-around champion at the West of the Pecos
Rodeo, Rope Myers, actually earned nearly $2,000 more at
this year's rodeo. Myers didn't qualify for the all around
in any roping events this year, but he won both the first go
round and the average in steer wrestling, and picked up
$5,673.29.

Myers 13.1 overall time beat out Bryan Fields of Rosharon,
who finished at 14 second flat. Myers following up his win
in the first go with a fourth place effort in the second go,
and on Saturday the Van, Tx., native was fifth, at 4.8
seconds.

Norm Bates of Crownpoint, N.M., won on Saturday with a 4.3
time, while Frank Davis was .3 seconds behind in second
place, and Fields was third, at 4.7 seconds. Brent Arnold of
Coleman had the fastest time of the rodeo, winning the
second go in an even four seconds.

Like Myers, Reiken and Darnell, Chad Hagan followed up his
first go win with a victory in the average in calf roping.
The Leesville, La., cowboy was second to Shawn Felton on
Saturday with an 11.1 second time, and his combined 33.4
time beat out Stran Smith of Tell, La., who had a 35.4 time.
Hagan collected $5,499.70 for his efforts in Pecos.

Mark Ivy of Mountain Home and No. 2 all-time money winner
Joe Beaver of Hunstville tied for first place in the second
go-round, at 9.8 second, while all-time money leader Roy
Cooper was third overall ion the average, with a 35.7 time,
and Cliff Kirkpatrick of Post was third in the short go on
Saturday, at 11.7 seconds.

Kirkpatrick's wife, Dena, saw her 17.24 second ride on the
first full night of the rodeo held up through the final
three nights to win the ladies barrel race and a first prize
of $2,236.56. Kirkpatrick of Post, was a quarter-second
better than Fort Stockton's Courtney Bowman, who took over
second on Saturday with a 17.49 time. Vicki Reinhart's 17.78
time was third.

The riding events were also one-attempt scores, and none of
the leaders after the first three nights of competition were
displaced on Saturday.

Eli Thompson of Seagoville had the biggest single payout of
the rodeo, $6,201.90 for winning the bull riding
competition. His 85-point ride on board `Doctor Doctor' on
Friday edged Chris Littlejohn, who scored 83 points on the
rodeo's opening night. Eric Bogany also rode on Friday and
placed third, with an 81 point effort on `Unbelievable'

Bud Longbrake's 79-point ride aboard `Smoke' during
Wednesday's first performance did hold up. He collected
$5,052.64 for first, one point ahead of Red Lemmel and Tom
Reeves. Both scored 78 points on Friday, Lemmel scored his
total on board `Maria' while Reeves rode `Shake It Up' and
both picked up $3,368.29.

Jason Wiley won the bareback riding competition with an
82-point score Thursday night on `No Satisfaction.' He beat
out William Pittman, who rode the same horse for 81 points a
night earlier, while Troy Thompson earned third, with 79
points on `White Lightning' Wiley's ride was worth $4,572.30.

In the two local events, Clay Taylor and Espy Howard won
the wild cow milking competition, while in the wild horse
race, Jason Owen, Jay Fowlkes and Don Alligood took first
place Saturday night.

Saturday's rodeo was a full house at the Buck Jackson Rodeo
Arena, after about a three-quarter full arena on Friday
night and smaller crowds the first two nights. The total
payout of $218,425.25 was slightly above 1997's total, when
the West of the Pecos Rodeo placed among the Top 15 for
rodeos in the United States and Canada.

Sampras stops slump on Wimbledon win


By STEPHEN WILSON
AP Sports Writer
WIMBLEDON, England, June 6 -- The only predictable thing
about men's tennis these days is that Pete Sampras is
untouchable at Wimbledon.

For the past 12 months, the world's No. 1 player had been
pretty average. He lost to journeyman players, suffered from
burnout and failed to get past the quarters of the U.S.,
Australian or French Opens.

So what happens when Sampras returns to Centre Court to
defend his title at the All England Club?

He becomes Superman again.

``Now I guess I'm out of my slump,'' Sampras said after his
6-7 (7-2), 7-6 (11-9), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Goran
Ivanisevic on Sunday, the American's fifth Wimbledon title
in six years.

Two weeks on grass was enough to lift Sampras back to his
dominant best and elevate him a notch higher on the list of
greats.

He tied Bjorn Borg for the most Wimbledon titles in the
modern era and moved within one victory of Roy Emerson's
record of 12 Grand Slam championships, equalling Borg and
Laver with 11.

If they played more Slams on grass, Sampras would surely be
way ahead by now.

``I'm probably more comfortable on this court than any court
in the world,'' he said. ``With the surroundings, and the
ball kids and everything, it just seems like it's
comfortable. It's like my practice court. I've played a lot
of big matches on that court and when you're comfortable
playing somewhere, you're going to play well.''

No kidding. Since 1992, Sampras has won 44 matches and lost
two at Wimbledon.

``If there's one thing that elevates my tennis, it's this
place, the court, the historical meaning that this
tournament has to me as a kid growing up,'' he said. ``It's
not easy each week you play on the tour to get motivated,
and I have no problem getting motivated for this one.''

Sampras was 8 years old when Borg won his fifth straight
title in 1980.

``As a kid when I saw Borg's five, I never thought that I
would be a position to tie it,'' he said. ``It's a little
overwhelming to think about it.''

Sampras plans to savor this victory before thinking about
going after Emerson's mark.

``When the U.S. Open comes around, I'll be thinking about
trying to achieve another goal,'' he said. ``But I feel like
I've got a lot of good years left in me, that I can do it,
and it's a number out there that I feel like I can
achieve.''

Sampras' victory further enhanced his status as the greatest
player of his generation. Whether he is the greatest ever
remains a matter of debate.

``I put him in the godlike stratosphere with Laver and
Borg,'' three-time champ John McEnroe said. ``You have to
put those people in the upper echelon. It's hard to say who
is the best.''

Laver twice achieved the Grand Slam, sweeping all four
majors in the same year. Borg won the French Open six times,
but never won the U.S. or Australian Opens.

The knock on Sampras is that he has never won the French,
the only Grand Slam event played on clay. He has never been
past the semifinals in Paris, and last month lost in the
second round to little known Ramon Delgado.

In addition to his Wimbledon titles, Sampras has won the
U.S. Open four times and the Australian twice.

``I guess it's possible to go a notch higher,'' McEnroe
said. ``It would be more easy to argue he's the best if he
won the French.''

For Ivanisevic, it might have been his best -- and last --
chance at winning a major. Losing in his third Wimbledon
final, after previous defeats to Andre Agassi in 1992 and
Sampras in 1994, was heart-breaking for the 26-year-old
Croatian.

``It's the worst moment in my life,'' Ivanisevic said. ``I
know I've had some bad moments -- when you are sick or when
somebody dies -- but for me this is the worst thing ever.
Nobody died yet, but it's tough. Now I have to be motivated
to play tennis again. I don't know how long it's going to
take.''

Sunday's match was a slugfest of brute force, with no rally
longer than eight strokes, a display of power tennis at its
best -- or most tedious.

Ivanisevic served 32 aces, but also had 20 double faults.
Sampras had only 12 aces, but scored repeatedly with his big
second serve.

The match turned Sampras' way in the second-set tiebreaker,
when Ivanisevic twice missed backhand passing shots that
would have put him ahead two sets to love.

``I felt the match slipping away in the breaker,'' Sampras
said. ``I thought `God, this could be Goran's year.'''

Even after Sampras took the second and third sets,
Ivanisevic pushed him to the limit before wilting in the
fifth.

``Compared to all the finals I've played, this is by far the
toughest,'' Sampras said. ``It was just a couple of points
here and there. I was able to raise my level just a little
bit in the fifth set. The next thing I knew I won the match.
It was kind of a weird feeling.''

And by now, a familiar one, too.

-- On Saturday, two-time runner-up Jana Novotna -- best
remembered for crying on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent
after losing in the 1993 final -- won her first Grand Slam
singles title by beating Nathalie Tauziat 6-4, 7-6 (7-2).

Novotna came back Sunday to claim the women's doubles title,
teaming with Martina Hingis for a 6-3, 3-6, 8-6 victory over
Lindsay Davenport and Natasha Zvereva.

-- Sixteen-year-old Serena Williams won the mixed doubles
title with Max Mirnyi of Belarus, defeating Mahesh Bhupathi
of India and Mirjana Lucic of Croatia 6-4, 6-4.

-- In men's doubles, Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis beat
Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 5-7,
10-8, stopping the Australians' bid for a record sixth
straight Wimbledon title.

Sore Sosa still plans trip to see McGwire


By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer
DENVER, June 6 -- Sammy Sosa's sore shoulder will prevent
him from swinging for the Rockies in the Home Run Derby and
All-Star game.

Sosa, though, is still making the trip to Colorado to see
just how far Mark McGwire can hit a baseball.

``You know me, I want to be there,'' the Chicago Cubs star
said Sunday. ``I'll be there watching McGwire.''

It seems that's what everyone is planning to do today when
McGwire and some of baseball's other top sluggers compete in
the Home Run Derby on All-Star Workout Day.

Everything will come to a dead stop at Coors Field when the
St. Louis first baseman, who leads the majors with 37
homers, steps up to the plate.

``It's going to be a lot of fun, a lot of fun,'' said
Cleveland's Jim Thome, who failed to connect for a homer in
front of the home fans last year at Jacobs Field. ``I'm
going to be a fan like everyone else, I want to watch
McGwire. I'll be like a fan watching what he does.''

In this, the Year of the Homer, there is no more fitting
venue to host McGwire and the other long-ball contestants
than Coors Field, where more homers have been hit the past
two seasons than in any other major league ballpark.

The lineups had not yet been completed Sunday for the
event, which for the first time will be televised in prime
time, but among the most likely participants are: McGwire,
Atlanta's Chipper Jones and Andres Galarraga, and Colorado's
Vinny Castilla for the NL; Seattle's Alex Rodriguez, Thome,
Detroit's Damion Easley, Baltimore's Rafael Palmeiro and
Anaheim's Darin Erstad in the AL.

Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners, leading the AL in
homers, said last month that he would skip this year's event
because it messes with his swing. Texas' Juan Gonzalez, who
went over 100 RBIs Sunday night, also is passing up the
chance to flex his muscles.

``You feel bad the next day. Your whole body feels sore,''
Gonzalez said. ``Your swinging for one purpose only, to hit
the ball out of the yard. Your neck, your arms, everything's
sore. It's not worth it.''

And Sosa, who set a record with 20 homers in June, had to
pull out Sunday after waking up with a stiff left shoulder.

McGwire should test the laws of gravity and might crush the
stadium record for the longest homer, a 496-shot belonging
to Mike Piazza. In fact, some of the restaurants and art
galleries surrounding Coors Field might want to board up
some windows with Big Mac coming to town.



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