
##3000550 <p> The vulnerable star center at Madison Square Garden yesterday was Rik Smits , as he stood there in the paint like the last slice of pizza in the box . Someone was bound to attack a guy who was all but baked with five fouls and six minutes left in the game . <p> And yet , the Knicks had passed up opportunities to push the Indiana Pacers off the cliff in the first two games of their second-round playoff series . It might have been a silly offensive foul , a missed rebound or a turnover . For some reason , fourth quarters , and the pressure of the moment , had been sending the Knicks into a state more mindless than meticulous . <p> But this time , Patrick Ewing stared into Smits 's eyes while taking a pass , ball-faked , dribbled and drew contact . Smits was heading for a permanent seat with just under six minutes left . And as the 7-foot-4-inch Smits angrily stomped to the Pacers ' bench , he took with him an important edge to his team 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Knicks a 3-point lead , and they were finally on their way to sustaining themselves in a fourth quarter . <p> The Knicks held on to their advantage with an unwavering defense that stuck to Reggie Miller , who had just 2 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter . For once , the Knicks did not get carried away . Chris Childs kept his head , and the Knicks held their lead for the last eight minutes . Although they were desperate to win , there was a sense of control and a show of savvy as the Knicks won , 83-76 . Now trailing by two games to one in the four-of-seven-game series , the Knicks play Game 4 today at the Garden , where the roar from the crowd at its first sighting of Ewing all but buckled the roof . <p> The reaction was not the same when Childs walked onto the floor . He was jeered mightily for his untidy ball-handling in Games 1 and 2 . But he was crisp and cool yesterday as he put an active body on the Pacers ' point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the right shots and cared for the ball in the fourth quarter . " I played the same way , but I just did n't take as many chances , " said Childs , who had just two turnovers after committing a total of nine in Games 1 and 2 . " You have to stay with the basics . " <p> Nothing fancy . The Knicks were not letting the buzz from the Garden crowd lift them up , only to crash . Instead , after a first-quarter lapse , they played with the consistency and intelligence that had escaped them in Games 1 and 2 . <p> The Knicks did not foul foolishly . If Dale Davis or Antonio Davis dared to get close to a layup , the Knicks smacked them , knowing both hovered around 50 percent from the free-throw line . Dale Davis finished 2 of 10 from the line , and Antonio Davis was 1 of 4 . <p> " Today , they missed some free throws , and that was a big difference , " Knicks Coach Jeff Van Gundy said . " It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is important . " <p> Instead of getting flustered when the Pacers went on a 19-6 run and took an 8-point lead with five minutes left in the third quarter , the Knicks snapped back . Maybe they were inspired . This was about the time Jackson went into a premature celebratory shimmy in front of a disapproving crowd . " I think our guards took it personally , " Allan Houston said . " We wanted to come back and make a stand on defense . " <p> The Pacers helped by missing opportunity after opportunity . " We were up by 8 , and there were three or four possessions where they did n't score and we had a chance to pump up the lead to 14 or 16 and we could n't do it , " Miller said . <p> The Knicks ' comeback was led by a bench that had been embarrassed in Game 1 and simply outplayed in Game 2 . This time , players like Terry Cummings , Chris Mills ( 11 points ) and John Starks ( 12 points ) took control of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 4-point Pacers lead . When it was over , the Knicks ' bench had outscored the Pacers ' by 37-14 . <p> " Our bench came in like they were on vacation and did n't get back in the game , " said Pacers Coach Larry Bird said , whose bench outscored the Knicks ' reserves by 56-20 in Game 1 . " I ca n't sit here and say our bench lost the game , but they did n't play . " <p> The Knicks were not about to let players like Jalen Rose and Travis Best make their group of veterans look overmatched again . <p> " That bench , you know , they kicked our tails in the first game , " Starks said . " We took it upon ourselves to come out and play a lot better off the bench . " <p> It is not as if the Knicks snapped into this unselfish , precise , complete team right away , though . For a while , there seemed to be a part of Ewing that just wanted to give the crowd a taste @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , whether he was ready or not , and despite his awkward performance in his Game 2 debut after sitting out nearly five months following wrist surgery . <p> So he took a lot of shots early -- 7 of his 16 came in the first quarter -- but his team fell quickly behind , down by as many as 13 points . Something clicked in , though . A much smoother , more controlled Ewing began finding his place within the framework of the team . And by the end , Ewing did not have to inundate the Pacers with fall-away jumpers and spin moves . <p> " He realized , I think , that he can get a lot of opportunities off his second-chance points and off offensive rebounds and in other ways , " said Houston , who played good defense on Miller down the stretch but could not find an offensive rhythm as he scored just 14 points . " He can still get his 19 points in other ways . I think that 's good for him to know that . We all are welcoming him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how he was going to be effective . So I think today was good for him . " <p> It was good for the Knicks . They were composed and smart , aggressive and yet selective . Six players scored in double figures to provide balance to what had been an unsteady show in this series . Not one player , not even Ewing , had to win this game on his own . <p> " I 'm just trying to blend in , " Ewing said . " When I see it is time to step in , I step in . If I do n't , I pass it . " <p> It is the little things , right down to the obvious , that sealed this . REBOUNDS <p> Pacers Coach LARRY BIRD was the one who left center RIK SMITS in the game with five fouls . " He was n't scoring that much when he was out there anyway , " Bird said . . . . The Knicks had a 42-27 edge in rebounds , with CHRIS MILLS leading them with eight off the bench @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used at backup center by JEFF VAN GUNDY . CHRIS DUDLEY , who started Game 1 and backed up PATRICK EWING in Game 2 , did not play . Cummings had 4 points and 6 rebounds in 16 minutes . 
##3000552 <p> No one knows what ate the brand-new $1.2 million artificial turf at Giants Stadium last year . <p> It was a fungus or a growth or a chemical reaction , or perhaps a combination of all three . It turned portions of the green plastic field black , then blue . Eventually , the Astroturf fibers disintegrated . A team of experts never identified the exact cause , other than to say that the mysterious substance leached onto the artificial turf from the grass field that had been perched above it so the MetroStars could play 16 soccer games there last summer . <p> But everyone at Giants Stadium agreed on one thing -- within months of its February installation , the new artificial turf might as well have been a million dollars worth of fake crabgrass . It was worthless and had to be torn up . <p> " It really was the best field we 've ever had , " John Mara , the Giants ' executive vice president , said last week of the 22-year-old stadium . " Except that it tore apart everywhere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rug that got eaten is one of high-tech expertise gone awry , of machine malfunctions , of a stadium trying to satisfy two professional football teams and a soccer franchise and in the process balance the demands of soccer purists and pro football pragmatists . <p> The assorted ruins of this escapade included a gluey turf , a machine that sprayed wire needles everywhere on the eve of an important game , random flooding , a not-yet-settled $1 million insurance claim , and the sight of an otherwise professional soccer team , with the real grass taken out , having to play on a plastic field that was a discombobulating maze of football hash marks and colored end zones . <p> Oh , and they are doing it all over again this year -- portable grass over another million-dollar Astroturf field . <p> And for what ? To preserve a much-debated artificial playing surface that some say promotes injury and that the players , the most valuable assets of the teams , loathe . A half-dozen other stadiums , in Chicago , Kansas City , St. Louis and elsewhere , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and thrown away their rugs for good . <p> " They should just dig up that turf , " said the Giants cornerback Phillippi Sparks , who suffered an artificial turf-related knee injury last season . " It 's a danger to all of us . " <p> The Giants and Jets , though , are stubbornly committed to trying the project again . <p> " It 's very easy for people to say , ' Oh , leave the grass down on the field , ' " Mr. Mara said . " And it would look great in September . But we are the only stadium in the nation with two pro football teams , and we have a number of college games played here , too . Plus , concerts . If we had one game played in a downpour , in November or December , a grass field could be unplayable . " <p> Again , then , everyone is crossing their fingers that the inscrutable fungus or other agent that had the 1997 Giants and Jets playing on a patchwork quilt of more than 200 refurbished sections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ <p> " Anything that could go wrong did , " said Robert Mulcahy , the former chairman of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority , which owns Giants Stadium . <p> Or as Jim Savoca , a vice president at the manufacturer , Astroturf , who monitored the Giants Stadium situation , said , " Boy , they created some nasty soup on that turf . " Turf Problems Never Seen Before <p> Not everyone is laughing at last summer 's turf troubles -- what one of the principals called a " cascading series of unfortunate events . " Scott Clark , the owner of Clark Companies , a leading field installation and turf and field maintenance enterprise that installed the new grass , lost $1.2 million in the course of last summer 's events . Mr. Clark , whose company has installed hundreds of grass and artificial fields nationwide , including grass used at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 1994 World Cup , had to pay for the new Astroturf field at Giants Stadium . <p> " It was nobody 's fault , " he said recently . " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote the $1.2 million check to New Jersey 's sports authority last month . But he said his company had never had a similar problem with a field it had worked on . And he has kept pristine samples and damaged samples of the Giants Stadium carpet at his Delhi , N.Y. , plant . <p> " We 've run all kinds of tests trying to duplicate the growth and we ca n't do it , " Mr. Clark said . " We 've used all the same pesticides and herbicides we 've always used on the grass . Nothing like that happens again . Some day I 'm going to figure it out . " <p> He is not alone in his puzzlement . <p> " There was nothing to suggest we were going to have any problems , " Mr. Mulcahy , who recently became athletic director at Rutgers , said . " Scott Clark 's work has always been impeccable , and when the grass was moved out we were all looking forward to the new Astroturf . " <p> Indeed , the Giants devoted a page of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Astroturf 12 . It was a unique design , with fibers newly configured to be more " player-friendly , " and Giants Stadium was one of the first facilities to receive it . <p> The MetroStars , as members of Major League Soccer , are required to play their games on natural surfaces to replicate international soccer conditions . They hired Mr. Clark to make another grass field . In the past , the grass fields were temporary , thick-cut sod fields . When removed in August at the start of the Giants and Jets exhibition seasons , they were discarded . The MetroStars , with the permission of their league , would then play the last stage of their season on the artificial turf . <p> In 1997 , Clark was asked to install an innovative tray-system grass field instead of the temporary fields he had created in the past . In the new system , grass grown on more than 6,000 plastic trays is put together like an enormous jigsaw puzzle over the artificial turf . <p> Special forklifts equipped with ground-level television cameras and monitors for the forklift @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . The entire field can be removed and stored in a parking lot in 40 hours . Worn sections can be replaced with new trays of freshly grown grass . <p> The tray system , if made a permanent replacement for the Astroturf at Giants Stadium , would cost about $3 million to install and about $450,000 annually to maintain ; that would make it far more expensive than an artificial field , which usually needs only routine cleaning . But because most pro football players prefer a grass surface , it could well be the future at Giants Stadium . Yesterday , the Giants practiced on the new tray-system grass during the team 's minicamp . <p> " This is better grass than most of the fields we play on , " said Jim Fassel , coach of the Giants . " It 's a solid , fast track . " <p> Mr. Clark said he got the order to install the tray system field at Giants Stadium in February last year . <p> But when the MetroStars opened their home schedule that April , the grass on the trays @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ -- had not sufficiently rooted . As a temporary measure , Mr. Clark put a black plastic vinyl liner over the Astroturf and went back to his old method , laying another sod grass field directly on top of it . <p> " The trays are 1,100 pounds each , and with that weight , they keep a liner flat , " Mr. Mulcahy said . " But the sod did n't weigh enough to keep the liner flat . " <p> In the heat of late April , the liner expanded and the sod rose with it , causing three-foot swells . <p> " They called and asked me if they could cut the liner to let the air bubbles out , " Mr. Mulcahy said . " We agreed they could so long as they over-laid the ends so nothing leaked through . " Innovative Turf 's Continuing Problems <p> By May , the grass in the tray system was ready . Mr. Clark removed the temporary field , saw nothing unusual on the artificial turf below and installed the tray-system field . The MetroStars played for months without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were removed for the first pro football game , there were visible black stains on the new Astroturf . <p> " I was frantic , " Mr. Mulcahy said . He called in environmental experts from Rutgers University , who established that it was a peculiar but not harmful fungus of unknown origin . <p> " We did n't panic , " Mr. Clark said . " You get stuff on the turf , you clean it off . We had it tested and were told to try some hydrogen peroxide . The stains came off and I thought , ' Well , I have a $20,000 cleaning bill . ' " <p> But the stains came back , and fibers started falling out . " I knew that minute that this carpet would have to go , " Mr. Clark said . <p> The Giants and the Jets , meanwhile , played an exhibition game in mid-August on the new turf , and after rain soaked the turf before the game , players splashed around in unusual puddles . <p> " We never thought there was a drainage problem , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " But there might have been some manufacturing finish remaining . If there was , we said we 'd get rid of it . " <p> Mr. Mulcahy said last week that too much glue had been used in installing the new turf and that the glue had plugged some drainage pores , something Mr. Savoca denied . <p> On Aug. 30 , the day before the Giants opened their season at Giants Stadium , Astroturf technicians used what Mr. Savoca called " the wire bristle technique " to improve the field 's drainage . The idea was to poke thousands of tiny holes in the turf . The field then drained better , but the technique left hundreds of small wire bristles on the playing surface . <p> " When the sun came up the morning of that first Giants game , " Mr. Mulcahy said , " they saw the bristles all over the field . " <p> Technicians , dozens of Giants Stadium security guards , Giants front-office employees and even a few Giants coaches began walking the field , bending to pick out the bristles . It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lenses . For Now , It 's Back To the Future <p> That was n't the end for the problems with the playing surface . Chunks of the turf were continually being removed and refurbished . " It was split apart in a number of sections , " Mr. Mara said . <p> Mr. Clark , who has insurance akin to a doctor 's malpractice insurance , told Mr. Mulcahy he would pay for a new turf . <p> " We had gross revenue of $14 million last year , so we 're strong financially , " said Mr. Clark , who is still negotiating with his insurance company over the bill . " But a million dollars is a million dollars . " <p> The new Astroturf went in early this year . All the parties agreed that last year 's tray-system grass field , which has spent months in a lot adjacent to Giants Stadium , would again be placed over the new turf , with a liner -- the kind used in landfills -- underneath . <p> Mr. Mara said he was not worried , but he added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MetroStars are going to end up playing on artificial turf . " <p> And the Metrostars ? Well , without any leverage , they are along for the ride . <p> Mr. Savoca had a different solution . " I think soccer should learn how to play on Astroturf , " he said . <p> The third alternative -- on display yesterday with the Giants practicing on the trays of grass -- is still in the future . <p> " I 'd love to have grass in the stadium eventually , " Mr. Mara said , making the great Giants Stadium turf mystery of 1997 sound distant . " At some point , I think the technology will be there for that . " <p> But perhaps speaking from the experience of the last year , Mr. Mara added , " I 'm not sure -- technologically speaking -- we 're at that point just yet . " <p> Diagrams : " Turf Troubles " shows a cross-section of Giants Stadium 's turf . TEMPORARY SOD AIR BUBBLES Formed because sod was not heavy enough . WATER LINER FUNGUS-LIKE GROWTH Formed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Source : Clark Companies ) ( pg . A1 ) " HOW IT WORKS : The New System " For soccer games , Gaints Stadium covers its Astroturf with 6,400 removable trays of real grass . How they do it : 1 . The field 's Astroturf is first covered with an impermeable plastic liner and plywood . 2 . Each 45-inch square , 1,100 pound tray attacjed to a system of connectors . . . an is assembled on top of the plywood like a giant puzzle . ( Source : Clark Companies ) ( pg . C4 ) 
##3000554 <p> This was an awkward moment for the Knicks . They were watching Patrick Ewing make a grand , albeit graceless , entrance after five months of grueling rehabilitation . <p> And instead of being inspired and moved , the Knicks were flat and frozen in the moment . They seemed unsure of how the ball should move , how the offense should flow , how Game 2 of this four-of-seven-game second-round series should be won at Market Square Arena tonight . <p> As odd as it was , it was a winded Ewing -- after being more of an albatross than an ally to the Knicks for most of the game -- who actually put his team in position to turn his cumbersome night into a hero 's finish . He huffed and puffed and had the Knicks within 2 points with 45.9 seconds to go . But even at that point , the Knicks were not certain what to do . Their basic instinct , which led them through an adverse season without Ewing , failed to surface . <p> The Pacers ' reflex reactions took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came up with a big offensive rebound after a Reggie Miller miss and was fouled in the process . With uncommon cool and calm , the 46 percent free-throw shooter delivered two in a row with 28.1 seconds left to help the Pacers put distance between themselves and the hoopla over Ewing 's return . And in the end , Indiana had an 85-77 victory at Market Square Arena . <p> With that , the Pacers have a two-games-to-none lead in this Eastern Conference semifinal round . Their star center , Rik Smits , scored 22 points as he head-faked Ewing , while Reggie Miller had 21 to counter the only player buzzing for the Knicks , John Starks , who had 20 off the bench . The Ewing tour makes its next stop in Madison Square Garden on Saturday , in Game 3 . Maybe then , with his first game behind him , Ewing can deliver a smoother night than this one : 10 points , 6 rebounds. 2 turnovers , 2 steals , 1 block and a 3-of-11 shooting night in 27 minutes . <p> " I thought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ game and score 50 , " Ewing said with a smile , playing again after receiving medical clearance today to come back from wrist surgery . " No , not really . But I thought I would have had a better game than I did . " <p> Ewing was not shy in his return . The offense did not run through him most of the time , but he took more shots than Larry Johnson , who made his return from a two-game suspension tonight with 15 points . And Ewing took just two fewer shots than Allan Houston . Houston scored 7 of his 16 points in the first quarter , when Ewing , in early foul trouble , played just three minutes . <p> " I 'm not worried about how many shots we took , or I took , or Patrick took , " Houston said . " I know people are going to talk about the shots and the flow . But to me , the key was the extra effort and the hustle by Indiana that we did n't have . " <p> The Knicks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was no guidance down the stretch , and no one to jerk the Knicks into the right direction . Chris Childs was not the answer . He had five turnovers on the night , and none was as crucial as the one he delivered with 2 minutes 37 seconds left , and the Knicks down by just 4 . Starks , who had put the Knicks ahead for a brief moment early in the fourth quarter , could not believe it . He was sprinting down the sideline , about to spring open and perhaps doom the Pacers , but the pass never got there . <p> Miller stepped in front of Childs 's errant throw . And as a result , he came down the court and popped a 16-foot jumper to push the Pacers ahead by 6 . This had nothing to do with Ewing , nothing to do with the flow of the ball with the center back in the lineup . The Knicks had six turnovers in the fourth quarter , and they killed them . <p> " I have to step up and we have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . " We have to play smart basketball . At a key point in the game , I had a turnover . I have to do much better than that . " <p> Each misstep left the Pacers with an opening . They had their own hiccups in this game , but under pressure , they made the shots , grabbed the rebounds and made the plays that mattered . They hit six consecutive free throws in the last 28 seconds to seal it . And in doing so , stars like Miller and Smits were able to equal the kind of success that their bench had in bailing them out in Game 1 . Whatever it takes . <p> " Defense won it for us tonight , " Miller said . " In Game 1 , the starters were embarrassed . And we wanted to stake our claim . Rik went 3 for 19 in Game 1 , and he was the first one to practice to work on his shooting . That 's what our team has been about all year long . It was a big win for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " <p> This is why Ewing returned . He was the Knicks ' hope of fending off the Pacers , of preventing Miller and company from running away with the series . <p> " We held our home court , " Miller said . " We 're going to the Garden where it 's going to be tough . But we 've had playoff success there before . By no means is it going to be easy . The crowd 's going to be wild . " <p> The volume will be turned up just a tad more when Ewing steps on the floor . And yet , you have to wonder how much of an improvement Ewing can make after what he did tonight . All of the emotions buzzing inside him before his return had to have drained him . From the start of Game 2 , he was cumbersome , foul-prone and winded . He looked his worst when he went one-on-one with Smits , tried to shake him with a crossover move , only to be stripped . <p> Still , the pride-filled Ewing was undeterred . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . " I have high expectations . Saturday is going to be hyped . It will be a different story in New York . " <p> This story had an awkward ending . On this night , when it seemed the Knicks should be moved by Ewing 's presence , they were planted on the court , unsure of what move to make . <p> " There has to be some adjustment , " Johnson said . " It will take some adjusting in my game , in Allan 's game , and in Patrick 's game . " <p> But there is little time to fine-tune , little time to figure out how to succeed with their franchise player taking over the floor again . <p> " We have to play with urgency and desperation , " Houston said . " We have to go out and take care of things on our court . We have to play more as a unit and as a team . We need to play like our lives depend on it . " REBOUNDS <p> The Knicks used the lineup they started their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down Dec. 20 . To that point , the Knicks were uninspired 15-11 with Ewing . " The question you have to ask yourself , and I have many times , is why was n't our team playing as well as we should have with him ? , " Coach JEFF VAN GUNDY said . " Why did , at times , we do more with less ? Guys had a sense of heightened responsibility , not only when we were down without Patrick , but without CHRIS DUDLEY . " . . . The Knicks ' hard-nosed power forward , CHARLES OAKLEY , was voted onto the N.B.A. 's all-defensive team . " Second team , right ? , " Oakley said . " That means you 're decent . But I appreciate the coaches voting me on . I just go out and try to play hard . " . . . RIK SMITS on Ewing : " He was a little rusty , but that 's to be expected . The longer this series lasts , the better he 'll get , obviously . " . . . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to let him step out here and be a savior . We talked about it , Rik took it personally and we were n't going to let that happen to us. " 
##3000555 <p> DODGERS 4 , MARLINS 3 <p> Ramon Martinez survived a shaky start to pitch eight innings , and Raul Mondesi capped a comeback with a two-run single to lead Los Angeles Dodgers past Florida last night in Miami . <p> Trenidad Hubbard hit his third homer for the Dodgers , who broke a three-game losing streak with their 11th come-from-behind victory . Florida lost its fourth game in a row . <p> Martinez gave up three runs in the first inning , then allowed only two hits after that . Scott Radinsky completed a six-hitter with a 1-2-3 ninth for his sixth save . <p> Florida 's bullpen blew a lead for the second straight night , and Mondesi 's two-out single in the seventh against Rob Stanifer put the Dodgers ahead . <p> Chris Hammond , an original Marlin making his first start for Florida since July 25 , 1996 , allowed only two runs -- one earned -- in six innings and departed with a 3-2 lead . Hammond was part of the Marlins ' rotation for four years , including their 1993 expansion season @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ free agent . <p> The Dodgers rallied with one out in the seventh . Eric Young walked , Roger Cedeno singled and Eric Karros walked to load the bases . Mondesi followed with a two-out single to score two runs . <p> Edgar Renteria and Mark Kotsay singled in Florida 's first inning , and both scored on a double by Gary Sheffield . He took third on Bobby Bonilla 's single and came home on a groundout by Jim Eisenreich . <p> Hubbard led off the fifth with a homer . Young doubled with two out and came around to score an unearned run when Renteria , the shortstop , threw wildly to first after fielding Cedeno 's grounder . EXPOS 2 , ROCKIES 1 <p> Carlos Perez took a shutout into the ninth inning and won for the first time in 12 starts since last Sept. 3 , leading Montreal to a victory at home over Colorado . Perez allowed seven hits in eight-plus innings , struck out four and walked none . He did not allow a runner past first until Neifi Perez 's leadoff double in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Colbrunn popped out and Mike Lansing grounded out . <p> Carlos Perez gave up a leadoff triple to Ellis Burks to open the ninth and Larry Walker followed with an r.b.i. single . Ugueth Urbina then finished for his seventh save in eight chances . With runners on first and second with two outs , pinch-hitter John Vander Wal flied out . <p> Montreal scored twice in the sixth off Jamey Wright . Mark Grudzielanek walked leading off , took third on Vladimir Guerrero 's single and scored with a head-first slide on Derrick May 's groundout , just beating the throw from first baseman Todd Helton . <p> Wright loaded the bases with walks to Brad Fullmer and Shane Andrews and , with the count full , Chris Widger hit a slow roller for an infield single . <p> Perez got defensive help in both the third and fourth innings , first getting a great throw from Andrews on Wright 's bunt to third that led to a double play . In the fourth , Walker struck out as catcher Mike Widger threw out Ellis Burks trying to steal second @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seven innings , struck out five and walked four . BRAVES 6 , PADRES 3 <p> John Smoltz drove in three runs and got his third victory as Atlanta , playing at home , won its fourth consecutive game . The Braves , who have won nine of 10 , are off to their best start after 34 games -- 24-10 -- since 1969 . <p> Smoltz capped a four-run fourth inning with a two-run double off Joe Hamilton and added an r.b.i. single in the sixth . The right-hander gave up five hits and three runs with seven strikeouts in seven innings . Kerry Ligtenberg pitched the ninth for his third save . <p> Despite their second straight loss , the Padres , at 22-11 , are off to their best start in franchise history after 33 games . <p> Andres Galarraga hit a solo home run , his 11th , in the fourth for Atlanta . The Braves have at least one homer in 19 consecutive games , one shy of the club record and five short of the league mark . <p> Ryan Klesko followed Galarraga 's home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a triple when Steve Finley lost it in the lights . Javy Lopez followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the score at 2-2 . <p> Michael Tucker was hit by a pitch and Andruw Jones reached on an infield hit before Smoltz 's double gave Atlanta a 4-2 lead . <p> Smoltz blooped an r.b.i. single to right in the sixth to score Klesko , and Walt Weiss followed with a run-scoring single to make it 6-3 and chase Hamilton . <p> Hamilton , who gave up 10 hits and six runs , has a 1-7 career record against the Braves . <p> The Padres took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run triple by Greg Vaughn , who has a nine-game hitting streak . PHILLIES 4 , ARIZONA 1 <p> Curt Schilling struck out 12 , his sixth time in double digits this season , allowing three hits in seven innings as Philadelphia beat Arizona at Veterans Stadium . <p> Schilling raised his major league-leading strikeout total to 90 , which is 39 ahead of the No. 2 pitcher -- the Dodgers ' Ramon Martinez . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 or more . <p> Schilling , who walked three , had allowed only one hit until the seventh , when the Diamondbacks scored their only run on Andy Stankiewicz 's r.b.i. single . Mark Leiter finished the three-hitter for his third save , sending Arizona to its ninth loss in 10 games . The Diamondbacks are 4-18 on the road . <p> The Phillies , who won for only the third time in their last eight games , got a solo homer from Bobby Abreu , an r.b.i. groundout from Gregg Jefferies and a two-run infield single by Scott Rolen . <p> Andy Benes allowed four runs and eight hits in seven and two-thirds innings , striking out six and walking two . It was only his sixth career loss to the Phillies in 19 decisions . <p> Abreu hit his second homer of the season in the second , and Jefferies drove in a run with his grounder in the third after Doug Glanville 's triple . <p> Glanville singled with two outs in the eight , Jefferies doubled and Rolen hit a high chopper behind second base and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ PIRATES 8 , REDS 7 <p> Jason Kendall 's two-run single in the eighth capped Pittsburgh 's second comeback of the game as the Pirates dodged three Cincinnati homers and two rain delays to win at home . <p> Bret Boone , Willie Greene and Chris Stynes homered as the Reds led 3-2 and 7-5 before the Pirates rallied against Stan Belinda with Kendall 's double and Turner Ward 's r.b.i. single in the seventh . <p> Kevin Polcovich , only 1 for 18 , doubled to start the eighth before Tony Womack 's single and Al Martin 's walk brought on Jeff Shaw , who was pitching for the fifth time in six games . Kendall , 3 for 5 with three r.b.i. , followed with a two-run single to left as the Pirates won their third in a row after losing five of six . Elmer Dessens pitched a scoreless eighth for the victory . <p> The Reds put two runners on the ninth against Ricardo Rincon before Rich Loiselle got two outs for his eighth save . <p> Boone had hit a go-ahead two-run shot -- his sixth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rally put Pittsburgh ahead by 5-4 . <p> Stynes 's fifth homer led off the third against Loaiza . Before that , the Reds countered Martin 's two-run homer in the first off David Weathers with Reggie Sanders 's two-run triple in the second . 
##3000557 <p> The scene has become as routine as it is unmistakable . <p> The disjointed din that signals the hectic pre-game activity at a major league ball park grows louder , the expectations more intense . Opposing players halt in mid-stretch or in mid-stride . Ushers stop ushering . Fans just settling into their seats stand up again , to watch or to rush to the rails , not behind the dugouts in search of autographs but behind the outfield fences , in search of home runs . <p> Mark McGwire is about to take batting practice . <p> For other batters , this is preparation in the daily pursuit of better baseball . For McGwire , the first baseman and cleanup hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals , who begin a four-game series against the Mets tonight at Shea Stadium , it has become a major role on his daily stage -- a one-man home run exhibition by the most productive long-ball hitter since Babe Ruth . <p> Other players have more home runs this season -- McGwire has 12 , behind the Rockies ' Vinny Castilla @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ( 13 ) -- but no one in baseball creates more home run expectations . <p> It is McGwire , Paul Bunyan with a bat , 6 feet 5 inches of power bulging in his massive forearms and shoulders , who not only transfixes fans and players alike but also sweeps them along in the belief -- the hope -- that he will make a successful assault on Roger Maris 's single-season home run record of 61 . <p> And so in ball parks across the National League they watch and wait . Last weekend in Chicago , fans stood on Waveland Avenue outside Wrigley Field waiting to collect his rockets from batting practice . <p> " We were the first team in when he was traded by Oakland to St. Louis , " Philadelphia 's Rex Hudler said . " There were 5,000 , 6,000 people there for b.p. , watching . And it was n't only the fans . It was us , too . We were getting paid to stretch , but we were watching him . And I 'll never forget , his first swing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ swing usually is to right field , a little chinker . His first , boom ! " <p> Such blasts are the stuff of legend . And so , too , is the power and the pull that McGwire -- in his 13th season at age 34 -- displays , both at the gate and on the game . It is a phenomenon like the one surrounding Cal Ripken Jr . when he closed in on Lou Gehrig 's Iron Man record . <p> " It is amazing , " McGwire admitted one day last month after being cheered before and during a game in Philadelphia , where even Santa Claus has been booed . " I get overwhelmed every time I hear something like that . It 's rare . And I do n't know exactly how it started . " <p> When it started is evident . The N.L. welcome mat rolled out as soon as the Cardinals got McGwire from Oakland last July 31 . Not long after , the Cardinals began opening the gates half an hour early so fans could watch the home team practices , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's so conscientious , he bears down , " said Tony La Russa , his former manager in Oakland and current manager in St. Louis . " He does n't want to embarrass himself . Last September , I actually think it took a little strength from him , because he geared up for it , like a doubleheader . " This season , the Cardinals ' home attendance is up by about 4,300 a game from last season . <p> McGwire -- who has 399 career homers and who missed big chunks of the 1993 , 1994 and 1995 seasons because of injuries -- hit a career-high 58 home runs in 1997 , after hitting 52 in 1996 . That total of 110 broke Jimmie Foxx 's two-year record of 106 by a right-hander . This season the man who ranks second only to Ruth in homers to at-bats ( 1 for every 11.94 at-bats to Ruth 's 11.76 ) is at it again . <p> Fueling the public 's imagination are all the McGwire admirers within the game who believe he has a shot at Maris 's mark . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 150 games , he has a chance , because he is an amazing hitter who is just getting better and better , " La Russa said . <p> McGwire 's peers agree and are cheering his accomplishments . <p> The Phillies ' Gregg Jefferies said , " The most exciting thing in baseball is the home run , and when you have a guy that is 6-5 and masters it , it is fun to watch . " <p> What is compelling about the universal fan acceptance is that it did not really escalate until last season , after one of the many late-summer trades that traditionally occurs between rebuilding clubs and pennant contenders . Only this trade was special because it involved McGwire . Owner of 34 home runs when traded , he proceeded to play in 51 more games in 1997 and homer every 7.3 at-bats , ending up with an incredible 24 , second on the Cardinals . <p> " If he had hit 58 in the American League , it would have been noteworthy , but I think that the National League gave extra certification to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a very tough transition , to come over in August and in two months , learn the league , then hit 24 . That 's a special talent right there . " <p> And McGwire has many other talents besides hitting homers . In the field , he is a Gold Glove winner . At bat he is hitting .313 with a major league-leading 38 runs batted in . <p> McGwire also said he puts less emphasis on batting average than on-base percentage , which is a league-leading .500 . Still , trying to overlook the power is as nonsensical as dismissing the lightning while concentrating on raindrops . <p> Dave Parker , once a long-ball hitter of note who is now the hitting coach of the Cardinals , polled Willie Stargell , his former Pirates teammate . " Willie said , ' Dave , we used to beat on that baseball , but this boy is incredible , ' " Parker said . " And he is . I have n't seen any man hit the ball as far and with the consistency of Mark McGwire . When you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . And he consistently hits the ball 475 , 500 feet and , if he catches one , who knows , 600 feet . I mean , it 's ridiculous . " <p> As McGwire redefines power , opponents search for a dwindling number of answers . " He used to be a little like Willie McCovey where he had a blind spot , up , " Yankee Manager Joe Torre said . " Now he 's learned to lay off that pitch . He squeezes you a little and makes you throw hittable pitches . " <p> La Russa held his right index finger and middle finger about a quarter-inch apart and said : " The margin is about this much . If you leave it out there , he hits the ball over the wall . " <p> Jerry Spradlin of Philadelphia learned that the hard way recently when he missed with a 1-2 pitch over the plate . McGwire uncoiled with frightening ease , hitting a homer to dead center that was ultimately the game winner . <p> Curt Schilling , the league strikeout king , made no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three successive at-bats , with rising fastballs clocked at 97 , 98 and 97 miles an hour . Even in victory , Schilling 's sigh of relief could almost be heard . <p> " People ask me if I want to face him , " Schilling said later . " No , I do n't . He presents a different kind of challenge than 99 percent of the guys in the game , because he 's not just a big guy , but a big guy with a very , very quick bat . " <p> So , what is the best defense , short of the strikeout ? " Walk him , " Cone said . " That 's about all you can do . " <p> Opposing pitchers are doing just that , at potentially a record rate . Entering last night McGwire had been walked 37 times in 31 games , including nine in Wrigley Field last weekend . That puts him on a season pace for 194 walks ; Babe Ruth set the record of 170 in 1923 . <p> McGwire has always had the swing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What McGwire did not have immediately was the mental game , something evident as late as 1991 . That year " was the worst time of my career , " McGwire said , recalling when he hit 22 homers and drove in 75 runs , but hit .201 , a career low by 30 points . <p> Doug Rader , then the A 's hitting coach , made McGwire whole again , in 1992 . " Doug simplified things for me , " McGwire said . " He taught common sense , to be realistic . He said : ' You ca n't get a hit every time up . Pitchers are going to get you out , ' instead of thinking , ' Oh my God , what 's wrong with me . ' " <p> Now a mature and settled McGwire realizes that the mind controls everything . Never will he need that wisdom more than this year , especially if he makes a serious challenge to the home run record . " I 'm too tough mentally to let anything mess this up or let anything cause me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McGwire said . " I am here to play the game of baseball . If I get a hit , a walk or make a good defensive play , or if I hit a home run , so be it . If I do n't , I 'll just go home and think about tomorrow . " 
##3000558 <p> The University of Notre Dame has made cultural icons of the Four Horsemen , Knute Rockne and the Gipper . Over 110 years its football teams have captured 11 national titles and produced 77 all-Americans , all while maintaining a near-perfect graduation rate . <p> In short , Notre Dame football has become the touchstone for all that is good and right about collegiate athletics , and it has served as the very public soul for the 156-year-old university revered as the pinnacle of higher learning for Catholic America . <p> But as the team began practicing today for this season , which begins on Sept. 5 against defending national champion Michigan , Notre Dame holds a tenuous grip on its hallowed place in the American sports consciousness . Its once-pristine reputation has been battered by an age-discrimination lawsuit filed by a former assistant coach that featured sordid testimony about the program , and an N.C.A.A. review of violations involving gifts to players . <p> While no one is accusing the Fighting Irish of being what 's bad and wrong about college football , the developments have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ winning percentage in college football history is really any different from any other program trying to compete at a multimillion-dollar industry 's highest level . <p> " It seems to me that the people in charge did n't understand that one of their duties was to protect the name of their institution , " said Richard Lieberman , the lawyer who successfully represented the former coach , Joe Moore , in the age-discrimination suit . " They decided to put at risk the whole public perception of who they are . <p> " Was Notre Dame any different than any other football team in the 90 's ? Probably not . The names of coaches and players change , but it 's the name Notre Dame that provides the mystique . In my view , they have taken a hit they may never recover from . " <p> Moore 's suit was indeed a blow to the school 's image . In depositions and testimony , witnesses detailed bitter fighting and backstabbing among the staff of the former head coach Lou Holtz , as well as physical abuse by coaches against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Association found that Notre Dame committed two violations involving trips and gifts given to five former and five current players by a 28-year-old South Bend woman . Today the woman , Kimberly Dunbar , pleaded guilty to two counts of embezzling more than $1 million from her South Bend employer . None of the players have been implicated in the criminal proceeding . But along with Dunbar , five former team members , including one who has a 2-year-old child with her , have been named as defendants in a civil suit . <p> Besides demoralizing many of the school 's 100,000 alumni , the revelations have been greeted with glee by critics who were put off by the sometimes holier-than-thou nature of the team 's zealous national following . Their satisfaction is no doubt enhanced by the school 's failing football fortunes , which included a 7-6 record last season under the first-year coach Bob Davie . <p> Notre Dame coaches , players and administrators find themselves in an uncomfortable and contradictory position . While insisting that they are no different from other programs , they are trying not to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a phenomenon worth a five-year , $45 million NBC television deal , the only one of its kind , and a rabid national following . <p> " I get concerned when people hold Notre Dame up as if we operate at a different standard , " said the Rev. E. William Beauchamp , the university 's executive vice president , who oversees athletics . " If everybody says Notre Dame 's standard is different from everyone else 's , then I do n't like what that has to say about intercollegiate athletics . " <p> But Athletic Director Michael Wadsworth concedes that the extraordinary media attention Notre Dame receives , combined with its strong academic reputation and rich football heritage , have fostered higher expectations in both performance and conduct . " It 's a mixed blessing , " he said . " I 'd rather have it than not . It 's what makes us unique . It also sets us up to be knocked down . " <p> What prompted this internal dialogue about Notre Dame 's responsibility and opened the program up to national ridicule was the $1.3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coach whom Davie fired after the 1996 season . Moore contended he was let go because of his age , and a United States District Court jury in Lafayette , Ind. , agreed , awarding him more than $86,000 . <p> On Friday , Moore 's lawyers will file for their costs -- $500,000 in fees and $100,000 in expenses -- and further compensation for Moore of up to $350,000 and will ask to have him reinstated . A judge will decide on the issues as early as October . <p> The case has been costly to the Fighting Irish 's reputation . The university countered Moore 's suit by claiming he was physically abusive to players and confrontational with fellow coaches . Stacks of well-publicized depositions and trial testimony provided a look at the rancor . <p> *Moore sometimes brutalized his linemen with punches and punishing calisthenics . Chris Clevenger , a former offensive lineman , recounted in a deposition how Moore twice punched him in the face , once drawing blood at halftime of the 1995 Blue and Gold game , a spring exhibition . <p> *Moore and another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over Moore 's chain-smoking before a 1995 game with Washington . <p> *Holtz physically attacked an assistant , Earle Mosley , at halftime of a 1996 game at Boston College after the running backs coach got into an altercation with a fan . <p> *Before a 1996 game in Dublin , Moore found a group of players gathered watching a male and female cheerleader having sex through the window of a hotel room . He took them to the parking lot at 1 A.M. and made them do calisthenics . <p> *Davie 's admission that , as an assistant , he and Moore had a conversation questioning Holtz 's mental stability in his predecessor 's final year and Davie 's strong dislike for some of Holtz 's habits and practices . <p> Despite the jury 's verdict , Father Beauchamp insisted that Moore 's case had no merit and that if the coach " was 35 " he still would have been fired . <p> Wadsworth dismissed any suggestion that Notre Dame 's image had been irreparably harmed . " The university 's enormous record of achievement as an academic institution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than any one coach , player or team , " he said . <p> Still , administrators concede there is significant concern among the Notre Dame community . Several alumni , ranging from former players of Frank Leahy to more recent non-athlete graduates , said they were disappointed by the recent turn of events . But loyal to Notre Dame , they declined to speak on the record . <p> The circle-the-wagons approach extends to this year 's players , who say that the summer 's controversies have not distracted them . <p> " The great thing about being a college kid is you do n't have time to read the paper or watch television , " said Mike Rosenthal , a captain who testified on behalf of Moore , his former line coach , whom he puts next to his parents as a role model . " You find solace in the weight room and work hard . The trial has never been a factor . As far as testifying , they asked me questions and I just told the truth . " <p> As troubling as the lawsuit to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accused of spending some of the money she embezzled to buy gifts and trips for some current and former players . Earlier this month , the N.C.A.A. decided that her contact with players was improper because she was a member of the since-disbanded Notre Dame Quarterback Club , which it considered a booster organization . Notre Dame , which reported the players ' relationship with Dunbar to the N.C.A.A. last spring , has taken the position that no violations occurred . <p> Dunbar ; her mother and sister ; Jarvis Edison , with whom Dunbar has a child , and four other former players of the Holtz era were named as defendants in a $1 million civil suit . <p> Of immediate concern is the status of five current players who accepted tickets and attended a Chicago Bulls game with Dunbar and some of the former players . It is unclear when the N.C.A.A. will decide what , if any , punishment to hand down . <p> " If it can happen at Notre Dame , it proves that it can happen anywhere , " Joe Paterno , the Penn State @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ play football these days than ever before because the outside pressures on these kids are tremendous . " <p> The unsavory headlines have been noticed by Fighting Irish fans , said Tim Prister , a 1982 graduate and editor of Blue &; Gold Illustrated , a popular insider magazine . " Support for the program and the team is as low as it 's been since before Lou Holtz got here , " he said . " It 's been a snowball . They went 7-6 last year . There 's the court case and the N.C.A.A. ruling . Expectations are very low . " <p> No one knows that better than Davie , the 43-year-old former defensive coordinator who succeeded Holtz . While he is eager to put the summer behind him , Davie acknowledges his responsibility in putting Notre Dame in a negative light and says directly what administrators will not . <p> " I take very seriously anything that tarnishes the Dome , " Davie said . " At Notre Dame you are judged by a different standard and that 's fair . It is what we sell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turn brutal , too , because the Irish face six teams that beat them last year . He and his team have much to prove , but he views it not just as a challenge but also an opportunity to set things right . <p> " We did n't play very well on the field last year , and that 's not characteristic of Notre Dame , " Davie said . " We ca n't control what people say and write about us in the past . But we can control what they say and write about in the future . " 
##3000559 <p> He never used his powerful driver , his ball striking was not up to par , and yet Tiger Woods ended today leading the P.G.A . Championship . <p> Call it talent . Call it maturity . Call it versatility . Call it very impressive . Shooting a four-under-par 66 , and setting a course record while smartly winding his way between the monstrous trees at Sahalee Country Club , Woods held a two-stroke lead over a group of eight . <p> It was an uplifting day for Woods , the world 's No. 1-ranked player , whose red-hot putter turned what could have been an average round into a superb one . Woods made five putts of 15 feet or longer -- the most confident he has looked with his putter in a major tournament since the 1997 Masters , when he rolled to a record-setting 12-stroke victory . <p> And by electing to keep his driver in the bag , and relying primarily on his 2-iron and 3-wood for tee shots , Woods both avoided the danger of Sahalee 's trees and gave an early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . <p> " I think my length is definitely a huge advantage on this course , " said Woods , whose 66 broke the previous course record of 67 , by Jack Nicklaus during an exhibition in 1984 . " I 'm able to hit 2-irons and 3-woods where guys are having to hit driver . I 'm able to carry the ball out there and land it softer , because I do n't have a club that 's really hot like a driver , landing on the ground and running into the rough . " <p> While Woods held the lead , the tightly bunched leader board held intriguing possibilities for the weekend . The eight-way tie for second place included Paul Azinger , the 1993 P.G.A . champion ; Glen Day , Bob Estes , Bill Glasson , Frank Lickliter , Shigeki Maruyama , Billy Andrade and Scott Gump . <p> Mark O'Meara , trying to become the first man since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three majors in the same year , shot a solid 69 , leaving him just three strokes off the lead . O'Meara @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ showed his resiliency by shooting three under par over the next 12 holes . <p> " I kept myself in the ball game , " said O'Meara , who came from behind to win both the Masters and the British Open . " I think it 's exciting . I have nothing lose . " <p> But to win , O'Meara will have to catch Woods , a close friend and neighbor . Woods has been using O'Meara 's backup putter for the past month , or as Woods put it , " The one I stole . " <p> Does n't O'Meara know that neighbors who borrow things often do n't return them ? <p> Woods set the tone for the day by making an 18-foot putt on No. 3 to save par , but he was just getting started . He made a 15-footer for birdie at No. 5 , an 18-footer for birdie at No. 7 , an 18-footer for birdie at No. 13 and a brilliant 35-foot downhill putt for birdie on No. 17 . And for the first time this year , he has the feeling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ read and when the cup seems just a little bigger . <p> " I feel so much more comfortable over the ball , " Woods said . " I ca n't really explain why . Anyone who plays this game knows putting comes in cycles . You have to ride it when you have highs and try to get over slumps as quick as possible . " <p> As for slumps , Woods has found himself defending his performance this year , despite nine top 10 finishes , a victory in the Bell South Classic , a victory in the Johnnie Walker Classic in Thailand and a third-place finish in the British Open . <p> For most players , that would be an impressive season . So while Woods admits he would love to have more victories this year , today 's patient performance was another example of the progress he has made since last year , when he finished tied for 19th at the P.G.A . Championship at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck , N.Y . <p> " It 's a more mature Tiger than you saw last year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " I 've got more shots . I understand my game . I understand how to hit shots when I 'm not really feeling well over the ball , how to keep it in play . <p> " I learned that I need to work on my wedge play , because last year , I felt so uneasy about my wedge play , I did n't feel like laying up after hitting a bad shot . People saw me be very aggressive trying to get the ball close to the green . Yeah , because I probably had a better chance of making par from there than I would from 100 yards . I 've been working on my wedge play all year and I 'm feeling good . Now , you can pitch out and save pars that way . That 's the name of the game . " <p> While most players found the back nine tougher than the front , Woods shot 34 on the front and 32 on the back . Meanwhile , others who threatened to end the day with at least a share of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reached the 15th green at five under par with a one-stroke lead over Woods , who was already in the clubhouse . But Day made his first blunder of the day , three-putting from six feet for a double bogey that dropped him out of first place . <p> After his six-foot attempt for par lipped out of the left side of the hole , Day hit a poor bogey putt from three feet that never touched the cup . He gave the hole an icy stare , knowing he had just lost the lead . <p> Yet it was fitting that someone named Woods would be the leader on a course with so many trees . With 54 holes left to play , a lot could happen , and will happen . But Woods will begin the second round in an enviable position . <p> " I 've been close to putting it together , being in the hunt where I could legitimately win , " Woods said . " It 's about getting the right breaks at the right time . I 'm very pleased the way I 've @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won , I 've given everything I 've got . Winning this week would definitely be nice . " CHIP SHOTS <p> Three prominent players struggled to 76 's : DAVID DUVAL , LEE JANZEN and PAYNE STEWART . . . . JOHN DALY tripled-bogeyed No. 18 and shot an 80 . FRED COUPLES , a local favorite who grew up in nearby Seattle , struggled to a 74 . STEWART APPLEBY , playing for the first time since his wife , Renay , died when she was struck by a car last month , shot a 77 . . . . STEVE ELKINGTON , the 1995 P.G.A . champion who has been plagued by physical ailments this year , shot an encouraging 69 and stood just three strokes off the lead . " It has been a frustrating year health-wise , " Elkington said . " I think I would have been fine if I just had sinus problems , but I got meningitis . I had forgotten how hard that was to come back from . I had it in 1986 . I think I 'm only now just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Seattle had his 15 minutes of fame when he climbed a tree barefoot on the eighth hole to retrieve OLIN BROWNE 's ball , after Browne hooked his drive . Betzler jumped on the back of his friend JOHN MARNIN of Portland , Ore. , climbed about 25 feet up the tree , found Browne 's ball , then dropped it down to Browne , who took a penalty stroke and double-bogeyed the hole . 
##3000561 <p> Ryan Ahlemeyer begged his father , Lon , to leave early for the 20-minute drive to Busch Stadium on Tuesday , early enough to be one of the first fans into the park when the gates opened at 5:10 P.M. , to scamper to the outfield seats in Section 385 and to get in position to catch a batting practice homer from Mark McGwire . <p> Lon Ahlemeyer , 42 , a self-employed electronics technician , rescheduled some job appointments , hopped into his gold Saturn and drove Ryan , 13 , from Cahokia , Ill. , to the stadium by 4 P.M. to wait in line . The father later sat in the steamy stands as his son stood as rigid as a Marine behind the yellow neon sign that says Big Mac Land in the upper terrace deck high above the left-field fence . It would take about a 440-foot homer to reach Ryan 's small , tan glove perched over the front-row railing , a prodigious blast even for McGwire . <p> But Ryan was eerily confident , and so was his father . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so I believed him , " Lon Ahlemeyer said of his son . " It 's kind of amazing , but I thought he 'd do it . " <p> Hundreds of people like the Ahlemeyers packed the entrances to the stadium four hours before the first pitch , some like Ryan who wanted to catch a ball and many others who simply wanted to watch McGwire practice swinging a bat in his quest to break Roger Maris 's 37-year-old record of 61 homers in a season . There were fathers and sons and mothers and daughters . It was as easy to find a 5-year-old with a Cardinals cap as it was to find a 55-year-old with a paunch and a Cardinals T-shirt . <p> The Cardinals , a team with a losing record , are nevertheless on a pace to set a team attendance record with 3.1 million fans . The enthusiasm that permeates Busch from the thousands of fans attending batting practice , which is generally regarded as a mundane warm-up in other stadiums , is the clearest indication of just how eager fans are to feel close @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McGwire , at 47 , leading the Cubs ' Sammy Sosa , who has 46 . <p> " I just wanted to make sure I got here and got a chance to get something from his season , " said Chad Mulligan , who cruised through St. Louis on vacation from his home in Pocahontas , Ark . " He 's obviously going to break it . Even if we do n't get a ball , we can say we were here . " <p> Mary Jane Mehlelman sounded a similar note . " I have n't seen this before and it 's wonderful , " she said . " I 've always enjoyed coming to the games because I 'm a big Cardinals fan . Now this makes it even more exciting . You feel like you 're part of it . " <p> John Moranville , a former resident of St. Louis who now lives in Memphis , returned home to see McGwire and felt as if he had been placed inside a time capsule and was 10 years old again . <p> " To me , McGwire has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said . " I was a fan of the Cardinals with Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst . Back then , baseball was everything to kids . Now , I do n't think it 's everything . McGwire is bringing that back . Kids need heroes . He 's a hero . " <p> Ryan Ahlemeyer , skinny with choppy brown hair , a hesitant smile and high hopes , was evidence of that . <p> " I 'd come every night to watch him if my parents would let me , " Ahlemeyer said . " This is so much fun . " <p> When the park officially opened , the tranquil sounds of batting practice in an empty stadium were replaced by the rowdy sounds of fans rushing to get in position to snare a souvenir blast from McGwire . They burst up the runways in anticipation . There was a family of five with the father giving instructions for catching the elusive ball , teen-agers who used hand and eye signals to station themselves and husbands and wives who separated by 150 feet to maximize their chance for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ binoculars and camcorders . Mostly , they had gloves , causing one stadium employee to lament : " It used to be I could get all the balls I wanted if I came down here for a few minutes . Now , everyone 's here . " <p> There was a calm in the seats as the crowd swelled . Jeff Marsh wanted his 13-year-old son , Patrick , to feel the type of exhilaration he did when he once caught a foul ball off a Nolan Ryan fastball . Chad and Kevin Mulligan , whose combined weight is about 450 pounds , sat in the front row of one section and spread out in five seats to store their belongings . Sure . They were boxing out other fans . <p> " If something gets close to us , my brother 's big enough to get it , " said Chad , who pointed to his brother , a huge man with logs for arms . <p> When McGwire took practice swings beside the cage , the fans cheered as if he had smoked a double . It was time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many fans standing below him . Should he be in the loge section ? <p> When McGwire routinely bunted the first batting practice pitch , the fans groaned . When he grounded the ball to shortstop and fouled another off , they moaned some more . But on the fourth toss , McGwire satisfied the fans in 282 by stroking a ball at them . <p> Richard Fletcher saw it all the way . He was sweating through a purple shirt as the ball flew toward him . Fletcher reached up with both hands and tried to catch the ball barehanded . It sounded like a firecracker when it popped off his left hand and bounced softly into another fan 's grasp . " I lost it in the sun , " a pained Fletcher said . " If I had a glove , I would have caught it . " <p> Richard Fletcher Jr. , a concerned 13-year-old , was still asking about the apple-red mark on his father 's hand when another ball rocketed toward them . Five pairs of hands lunged for it , and the fan whose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier had switched spots from the walkway in front of the section to the sixth row . He shouted , " Yeah , " and closed his eyes after the grab , but calmed down for the post-catch interview . <p> " It was pure luck , " Blan said . " Any of these guys could have caught it . I was just telling myself not to drop it . I 'm glad I had the glove . " <p> Even after McGwire completed his first practice session with a homer to center , Ryan did not lose hope . <p> " I know he 'll hit one up here , " Ryan told his father . " He always does . " <p> McGwire did not go deep on his first three tries in the second round . But then he lined a bullet into a section in left center , almost the same spot where he drilled one later Tuesday night off the Mets ' Bobby Jones for his 47th homer . <p> On the next swing , McGwire 's 12th of batting practice , he unloaded on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ball was hurtling toward him . Would the ball be high enough ? Would it make it to the terrace level ? Ryan was standing behind a three-foot railing , which led to a 50-foot drop , so he could not lean over too far . He waited . <p> The ball continued soaring . Ryan was standing over the " d " in " Big Mac Land , " and he squeezed his glove between two railings awkwardly , yet adeptly . Miraculously , the ball hit the webbing of Ryan 's glove like a cannon ball and popped out like a snow cone before he coolly gathered it in with his right hand , his arms wrapped around the railing . Fans did double-takes after the outstanding grab and then gave Ryan a McGwire-like ovation . The teen-ager had been right all along . A ball from McGwire 's special and possibly historic season was his . <p> " It was hit very hard and I did n't know if I was going to catch it , " Ryan said . " I just tried to put my body @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my glove , it felt like Christmas . " 
##3000564 <p> Winning the Masters and the British Open in the same year should at least make you the most recognized golfer in your city . But Mark O'Meara is not even the most recognized person in his neighborhood . <p> O'Meara lives in Windemere , Fla. , outside Orlando , in the same community with Tiger Woods and Ken Griffey Jr . Woods , who won the Masters at age 21 , has been on more magazine covers than most supermodels . Griffey , who is chasing Roger Maris 's record for home runs in a season , is on the nightly news whenever he clears the bases . <p> But while Woods and Griffey are better at making headlines , O'Meara has quietly been making history . He enters this week 's P.G.A . Championship at Sahalee Country Club in Redmond , Wash. , with a chance to win three majors in the same year . No man has done that since 1953 , when Ben Hogan won the Masters , the United States Open and the British Open . <p> Golf 's spotlight has finally found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who has replaced Woods as the neighborhood 's hottest golfer . The turn of events was unexpected . O'Meara had enjoyed a solid career before this year , winning 14 tournaments on the PGA Tour and 20 tournaments worldwide . But he had never won a major . <p> Now , O'Meara has reached his peak at an age when others are reaching for Nuprin . His success is testament to what can happen when talent , temperament and experience merge . Yet , if someone had told O'Meara in January that he would have a chance to win his third major by August , what would he have said ? <p> " I would n't have believed it , " O'Meara said last week in a telephone interview from his home . <p> He believes it now . And despite his modesty , O'Meara is not intimidated by the attention he will face this weekend as he tries for a triple-major year , something that such great golfers as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer never achieved . To prepare for the P.G.A . Championship , O'Meara spent the weekend in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hank Haney , golfing , fishing , and fine-tuning his game . O'Meara has never seen Sahalee , a picturesque course outside Seattle featuring narrow , tree-lined fairways that put a premium on accuracy off the tee . <p> O'Meara has been cautious not to let the anticipation hurt his preparation . <p> " I 'm approaching this the same way I always do , wanting to play well enough to give myself the opportunity to win , " O'Meara said . " If I do n't play well , I can live with it . It has already been a special year . And I think it 's pretty neat that a 41-year-old guy is showing that the older guys can still play the game a little bit . " <p> Nick Faldo was the last man who arrived at the P.G.A . Championship with a chance to win his third major in one year . But after winning the Masters and the British Open in 1990 , Faldo finished tied for 19th at the P.G.A . O'Meara hopes to do better , and he will be well rested . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Open at Royal Birkdale last month , when he won a four-hole playoff against Brian Watts . <p> O'Meara 's success does not surprise Haney . Their relationship started in 1982 , when O'Meara was a young golfer from Southern California , struggling to make a living . It was late in the season , and O'Meara was 124th on the money list , needing to finish in the top 125 to keep his tour card . After working with Haney , O'Meara made the next three cuts and kept his card . <p> Haney said that 16 years later , O'Meara remains as dedicated to the game as he was the day of their first lesson . <p> " I 've worked with a lot of professionals , and I 've never been around any that practice as well as Mark , " Haney said . " And it 's nice to see one of the nice guys succeed . Mark 's greatest strength is that he does everything pretty well . He 's not spectacular , but in golf , doing everything pretty well on a consistent basis can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ makes Mark special is that his mental attitude is as good as it has ever been . That 's pretty impressive , when you 're talking about a guy who 's 41 . Hanging around guys like Tiger and Ken Griffey is a part of that . You can learn a lot hanging around champions , guys who are that competitive , guys who are pushing you . Tiger and Mark played golf in Orlando before the British Open , and Mark shot a 63 . He lost . Tiger shot a 62 . That 's not a bad way to get ready . " <p> It is no coincidence that O'Meara has played the best golf of his career since Woods joined the tour in the summer of ' 96 . Woods and O'Meara , who are both represented by International Management Group , became fast friends . Woods was looking for a place to live after turning professional , and O'Meara sold him on the Orlando area , with its warm climate and lack of state income tax . Other tour players , such as Scott Hoch , Payne @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ champion , also live near O'Meara . <p> Woods looks up to O'Meara for his experience , and O'Meara is fueled by Woods 's fire . The day after the British Open , O'Meara and Woods flew home together , and as soon as it was safe to take off their seat belts , Woods wanted to see the claret jug , the trophy given to the British Open winner . <p> " I told Tiger he 'd have his name on that trophy one day , probably a few times , " O'Meara said . " He 's got plenty of time . " <p> But for O'Meara , that chance was a long time coming . " I finally realized I did n't have to play perfect golf to win a major , " he said . " In the past , I put too much pressure on myself . " <p> Haney believes O'Meara has always had the game for a major championship . <p> " Hardly anybody has a game suited for all four majors , and it 's hard to win any of them , " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a British Open , because his lower ball flight and accuracy are suited for playing over there . But Mark always had what it takes . He does n't have too many easy victories in his career , but when he has a chance to win , he usually closes the deal . " <p> This year , O'Meara has been a better deal closer than Donald Trump . He did not lead the Masters until the final hole , but he rallied from three strokes down with four holes to play to defeat Fred Couples and David Duval by one stroke , clinching the victory with a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 18 . <p> Only certain players make putts like that . Ask players on tour to name the game 's best pressure putters , and it will not be long before you hear O'Meara 's name . That ability to find the bottom of the cup makes O'Meara extremely dangerous when he is in contention . <p> " I 'm not going to say I was certain I 'd make that putt at Augusta , but I had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confident , " O'Meara said . " That was quite a way to win my first major . " <p> But the British Open was just as dramatic , as O'Meara prevailed over a world-class field in windy , chilly conditions that tested every part of a player 's game . Once again , O'Meara never led until the final round . Then , after finishing the 72d hole at even par , he waited behind the 18th green with his wife , Alicia , and their two children , Michelle , 11 , and Shaun , 8 , as Watts played the final hole . It was great theater , as Watts made one of the great shots in British Open history to force a playoff with O'Meara , hitting a difficult greenside bunker shot within six inches of the cup to save par . <p> Showing his class , O'Meara applauded the shot . Showing his toughness , O'Meara dominated the playoff , setting the tone with a birdie on the first hole and winning by two strokes . <p> The last few months have made up for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but not good enough to win a major . He said he has always slept well at night , but winning a major championship earns respect . As for the fame that can come with that accomplishment , O'Meara does not want it , especially after watching some of the things Woods has gone through . <p> " My privacy is important to me , " O'Meara said . " I do n't think anything that has happened to me this year is going to change the way we live . " <p> Well , maybe it will just a little . Since winning the British Open , O'Meara has noticed that his son has become more interested in golf . Several days last week , Shaun was dressed and ready to play golf in the morning , waiting for his father to get ready . <p> " That 's been a little different , " O'Meara said . " I have never , ever pushed him . But lately he 's been like , ' C'm on , Dad , let 's go . ' Then when we get on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ O.K. , Dad , this putt is for the British Open . ' " <p> O'Meara does not have to pretend . He has done it . And because nobody expected him to win two majors this year , why be intimidated by the magnitude of what he could accomplish this weekend ? <p> " Just to have a chance to win three majors in the same year is pretty special , " O'Meara said . " When the year starts , you really ca n't expect anyone to be in that position . I 'm just happy to have the chance . " 