Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 7

O.DCFA Iraq's men's soccer team falls Paraguay in thesernifirials. DetallsB5 AUGUST 25, 2C54 Tony Simmons, a one-time baseball standout, is profiled prior to his Mattoon Hall of Rune induction. 3 MATTOON (ILL,) JOURNAL GAZETTE QUESTION OR COMMENT? CONTACT US AT sportsjgtc.com coxoPiBBsnsr ra Wednesday Spoils I i Q9 ty.vv EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL 2004 AROLIND A brief look at the world of sports iEMigWl igjip i in II I i HIMIII 'ill nil I I I HHMI'11 i Eastern Illinois football coach Bob Spoo team eventually returned to practice for calls a BY BRIAN NIELSEN Spoils Editor CHARLESTON Steve Kuehn does not appear ready to give up his place-kicking job. With challengers including one scholarship freshman brought to Eastern Illinois' preseason football practices, the returning junior looks ready to handle the competition if -Tuesday's special teams scrimmage was any indication. Kuehn, who is 9-for-23 kicking field goals the past two seasons and 0-for-5 from 40 or farther, nailed all four tries from 37 yards in Tuesday's test connecting from both hash marks, middle left and middle right.

1 Freshman Jordan Gornzy, recruited to compete with Kuehn this year, hit his two 37-yard attempts from the hash marks but was wide on two middle kicks. While the charting and testing is to continue before EIU's Sept. 11 opener, Kuehn has impressed coach Bob Spoo thus far. "He was solid," said the head coach who also coordinates special teams. "He's hitting the sweet spot.

He's a lot more confident this year." Other kicking prospects, including freshman Shane Lockart of Mattoon, could also get a look in a Thursday walk-on practice. PANTHERSB4 1 V'' WlL. GAMES OF THE XXVIII 0M1PIAD: ATHENS 2004 his players off the field as lightning and special teams-dominated scrlmmaqe. Athlete in decathlon Dmitriy Karpov of Kazakhstan, the leader through eight events, was the bronze medalist with 8,725, an Asian record. "We are friends," Sebrle said of decathletes, "and I think we are a special kind of athlete." Pappas withdrew from the competition with a foot injury after seven events on Tuesday.

He left the stadium without talking to reporters. "I have no doubt that if he had not gotten hurt, we would have been carrying that flag together," Clay said, "and on the podium together I don't know in what order." In reality, though, Pappas was in fifth place and virtually out of medal contention when he strained his left foot on his first pole vault attempt. But Clay, who has a history of injuries, seemed stronger as the night wore on. Greatest takes silver really take me seriously some times, whether that's my personality or my size or whatever. Hopefully now they'll know I'm for real." Clay, who competed for and still trains at tiny Azusa Pacific University in southern California, stands just 5 feet, 11 inches and weighs 174 pounds.

Still, he threw the javelin a personal-best 228 7 feet, 8 inches, then finished with a 4 minute, 41.65 second 1,500 meters closely following Sebrle all the way around the track four "I was just focusing on the corner of Roman's shoulder," Clay said, "just trying not to let that get away from me." Clay, who finished the exhausting 10-event competition with personal bests in the javelin and 1,500 meters, was just 71 points off O'Brien's American record. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL fords' teez gets lO-day suspension for chssti CINCINNATI (AP) St. Louis reliever Julian Tavarez was suspended for 10 days Tuesday for applying a foreign substance to balls while pitching last week. Tavarez appealed the decision and will be allowed to play while the suspension is under appeal. "The incident that day seemed like it was a very minor thing, and I'm shocked that it would be worth 10 days," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.

"So, we'll let the process take care of itself, and that's all I'm going to say." Tavarez was ejected during the opener of Friday's doubleheader against Pittsburgh after umpire crew chief Joe West inspected the pitcher's grimy hat. West said Tavarez and Cardinals and manager Tony La Russa "as much admitted" it was pine tar on his cap. Tavarez made a flamboyant exit, putting his arm around plate umpire Ron Kulpa and suggesting the two get a beer after the game. Tavarez tossed his cap to a fan in the stands behind the dugout as he left. Unless appealed, the suspension was set to start Tuesday night for the Cardinals-Cincinnati gama The penalty was imposed by Bob Watson, vice president of on-field operations for Major League Baseball.

AUTO RACING 8p.m. SPEED CHANNEL NASCAR, Craftsman Truck Series O'Reilly 200, at Bristol, Tenn. LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL 3 p.m. ESPN World Series International semifinal, teams TBA, at Williamsport, Pa. 7 p.m.

ESPN World Series American semifinal, teams TBA, at Williamsport, Pa. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 1p.m. FSNC Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs p.m. ESPN2FSNC Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers FSNM St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds 9p.m.

ESPN2 Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics GAMES OF THE XXVIII OLYMPIAD 6a.m. BRAVO Equestrian, individual dressage Gold Medal final; men's volleyball, quarterfinal, at Athens, Greece USA Women's basketball, quarterfinal, at Athens, Greece 9a.m. MSNBC LIVE: baseball, Gold Medal game; men's water polo, quarterfinal; women's basketball, quarterfinal; SAME-DAY TAPE: men's volleyball, quarterfinal, at Athens, Greece WICDWTWO LIVE: beach volleyball, men's Gold Medal match; SAME-DAY TAPE: synchronized swimming, duet Gold Medal final; canoeing, semifinals; cycling, track Gold Medal finals, at Athens, Greece 4p.m. BRAVO Men's volleyball, quarterfinal; men's field hockey, semifinal, at Athens, Greece (same-day tape) CNBC Boxing, quarterfinals; wrestling, Greco-Roman Gold Medal finals, at Athens, Greece (same-day tape) 7 p.m. WICDWTWO Track field.

Gold Medal finals: women's 00m hurdle women's 200m; diving, women's springboard; women's triathlon; wrestling, super heavyweight Greco-Roman Gold Medal final, at Athens, Greece (same-day tape) llp.m. BRAVO Sailing, Gold Medal finals; women's basketball, quarterfinal, at Athens, Greece (same-day tape) 11:35 p.m. WICDWTWO -Volleyball, men's quarterfinal; track field, men's 5000m heats, women's hammer throw; men's super heavyweight welghtllftlng, at Athens, Greece (delayed tape) 1a.m. MSNBC LIVE: wrestling, Greco-Roman semifinals; men's triathlon; DELAYED TAPE: canoeing, semifinals; aekwondo, at Athens, Greece ON Kevin KilhofferStaff Photographer rain hit O'Brien Stadium Tuesday. The almost Clay, whose mother is Japanese-American and father is black, moved to Hawaii at age five and considers it his home state.

He said wanted to celebrate with a Hawaiian flag along with the American, but decided it wouldn't be appropriate. "All I can say is I remember sitting down watching people like Dan O'Brien and Dave Johnson and Chris Huffins and all those guys put up those huge scores at the Olympic Games and get to run around with the flag," Clay said. "I'd get goose bumps just sitting there watching them. I still look up to those guys. Now that I know that I just surpassed most of them, I don't know what to tell you.

It's just an unbelievable feeling." Sebrle, 29, won the silver medal four years ago in Sydney. "I was four years younger, and I thought only about a medal, not a gold medal," he said. "Her, I competed better. I wanted just the gold." BIG 12 FOOTBALL 2004 League highlights usual suspects BY RICK DAWSON Staff Writer What can be said about the Big 12 this year that can't be said of it any other year? Well, for one, it isn't a 12-team conference, although it is an even-numbered conference again after five years. No more Stephen Decatur.

No more Rantoul. No more East and West divisions. No more non-conference games. And no more possibilities of claiming conference titles while dodging one or more of the front-runners. "I think it's a great thing, said Champaign Central coach Jeff Hasenstab.

"There can be no more ties. I guess there can be ties but at least everyone can play everyone else and that should add to the excitement of the Big 12." Adding even further to the excitement is the list of college prospects. Bloomington tight end Tim McAvoy is headed to Michigan. Decatur Eisenhower linebacker Brit Miller and Mattoon wide receiver Kyle Hudson are Illinois-bound. And with the number of underclassmen waiting to emerge, that's just the start.

R312ft4 World's USA's Clay By BOB BAUM AP Sports Writer ATHENS, Greece Bryan Clay, the little guy among the giants of the decathlon, chased Roman Sebrle to the finish in one of the most powerful American performances in the event's history. Sebrle, the world record holder from the Czech Republic, won the gold medal Tuesday with 8,893 points an Olympic record and the second-highest total of his magnificent career. The 24-year-old Clay, who upset reigning world champion Tom Pappas in the U.S. trials, was second with 8,820 points, the third-highest ever by a U.S. decathlete.

Only Dan1 O'Brien had better scores among Americans. "It hasn't sunk in yet," Clay said. "But I'm pumped." "I think people kind of take me for granted," he said. "They don't MATTOOtl HALL OF FAME Ecoppi hasn't forgotten his hometown Third in a series BY RICK DAWSON Staff Writer MATTOON More than half a century removed from the town, Joe Ecoppi has had plenty of cause to make it back to Mattoon through the years. It was the source of his 50th class reunion in 1997.

The site of annual Mattoon Indians reunions. And foremost, the place to which he gives credit for shaping him into a professional baseball player, Air Force colonel and, most recently, an inductee into the Mattoon Alumni Hall of Fame, for which he is to be honored on Thursday. "I owe just about everything to Mattoon," Ecoppi said from his home in San Antonio. "It's great to be remembered somehow, someway, especially by the people you grew up with. I don't know anything better than that." Of course, small towns don't have ECCPPI54 'P Submitted Photo One-time Mattoon football standout Joe Ecoppi Is shown In a picture from the 1947 Mattoon High School yearbook.

Nearly 60 years since his graduation from MHS, Ecoppi hasn't forgotten his roots; he'll be back again as part of Thursday's Mattoon Alumni HaU of Fame banquet at Gunner Bug's..