Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 9

MOUND Tuesday A bnef look at the world of sports Conference tourney tarn Area boys' and girls' teams see how they can do in their respective conference tournaments, which are in full swing this week. DetaB3 MIPIW4F 1 lttL: rOJR II ATT 0 0 (ILL.) JOURNAL GAZETTE QUESTION OR COMMENT? CONTACT US AT sportseigtc.com retail rnmks Lady Shoes 4 FOOTBALL Chiefs' Thomas has paralyzed legs after car accident LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) Derrick 'l Thomas, one of the most feared pass '-n rushers in NFL history, has a broken neck and back and might never walk again. The star linebacker of the Kansas City Chiefs has paralyzed legs following' a car crash on an fey road in which his friend was killed. Thomas has use of his arms and upper chest, and doctors held out hope he might fully recover.

Doctors said the 33-year player faces extensive rehabili-tation and probably will have surgery. "I don't think you can say anything right now Dr. Jon Browne, the Chiefs' team physician, said Monday. "These type of injuries have a mind of their "own and a treatment pattern of their own. They're all uniquely and ly different." Thomas was being transferred from the Liberty Memorial Hospital to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

Thomas was bom in Miami and his mother lives4 1 there. Friends and teammates came to the hospital Monday. Also visiting was i Steve Palermo, a former American 1 League umpire who was shot in 1991 and left partially paralyzed. 7,1 'Do not rule anything in," said Palermo, a Kansas City resident and friend of Thomas. "And do not rule any- thing out He understands the gravity of -it But he's also very optimistic." Thomas has fractures in vertebrae in his neck and back.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL Carolina ends decade in Top 25(' NEW YORK (AP) It's the powder" blues these days at North Carolina. The Tar Heels (11-8), ranked as high'- as No. 2 earlier in the season, fell out of The Associated Press college bas I i 4 i. .1 ft 4 FS FT R.I PFTP Sidi'KS 4-14 3-3 3 1 14 -d Ml 0-0 4 15 0-0 0-0 2 2 0 Donnell 8-11 3-5 13 1 19 Hudson. 6-11 0-0 4 4 12 Cunico 0-0 0-0 0 3 0 Key 0-4 H) 2 5 0 i 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Patron 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Conian 0-0 00 0 0 0 Team 0 ToiJli 23 51 68 28 17 50 fg nm ft tp Wer.Jt 6-13 4-6 7 1 19 Denbrock 7-13 3-4 4 4 17 Gofcayasld 4-8 4-6 9 4 12 Ordnar 3-10 0-0 5 2 6 Bioemer 0-2 0-0 2 0 0 Runde i 6-8 0-0 4 0 12 Team 2 25 54 11-16 33 11 68 8 16 8 18-60 TeutopoNs 9 21 15 21 6 Z'A CO A V' 3p Voon4-14 Sparks 3-8, Bond 1-5, IT SCOTT LAXBEXT JCSpftsEdttor TEUTOPOLIS Already facing the unenviable task of trying to defeat Teutopolis' girls' basketball team on its own floor, on Senior Night to boot, Mattoon's girls' basketball team had to face a T-Town team with Dennis Koester on the bench.

Koester, the coach who has made Teutopolis one of the premier programs in the state of Illinois (T-Town owns five Class A state championships), has been sidelined this year with foot complications due, to diabetes. But Monday night, on Senior Night, Koester made an emotional return. Koester's squad responded to his return, playing the defense that T-Town is famous for and defeating a game Mattoon team 66-50. always like playing Mattoon," Koester said. "They're a good club.

George (Reed, Mattoon's coach) does a good job with them. We beat a very good club tonight They have a lot of depth and a lot of balance. I think our girls had to play very well to win this one." The forced absence has not been easy for Koester. "It's been tough," Koester said. "You have to wait at home to find out the scores.

I'm not back yet though. I have to go. back in for more work on the foot so I won't be with the team in regionals and sectionals. But I told Laurie (Thompson, Koester's long-time assistant and former player) that I got her there (to state) when she was a sophomore and a senior so now it's her turn to do the same for me." Playing the way they did Monday night, another trip to state is a strong possibility for T-Town. i The Lady Shoes, 23-3, were led by freshman Katie Wendt and her three 3-pointers.

Wendt finished with 19 points and. opens up a wholen new-perspective for an, already strong. team that traditionally doesn't utilize the 3-pointshot "I've got a eouple on my squad who can shoot the 3," Koester said. "That Kay 0-1); Teutopolis 3-6 (Wendt 3-6). siocSnQ par- Wuttoon Teutopolis .481.

Turnoverc '1 Mattoon 13, Teutopolis 8 ketball poll for the first time in a decade Monday. helps when Katie's on, she opens up a lot of other things for us. We use the 3-pointer to open up other parts of our game." Monday's game was well played for most of the night. Although both teams started slow shooting-wise, the intensity level was high and neither team backed down from each other. T-Town battled its way to slim 9-8 lead after one quarter and the game stayed that tight through most of the second.

But with 36 seconds remaining in the half T-Town up by four, Mattoon came down the floor and had a bad possession, throwing up a bad shot and giving the Lady Shoes the ball for the and took! a lead into the biak The, four-point swing wascruciaL "Against real good teams, one possession or one rebound here and there can make a big difference," said Reed. "A few MIKE ESTELLSTAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Teutopolis' Stephanie Gobczynskl, left; Alicia Ordner, center; and Katie Wendt, right; try to defend Mattoon's Kara Donnell as she goes up to shoot after pulling down a rebound. Donnell finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds In Mattoon's 66-50 toss to the Lady Shoes. The Tar Heels lost to Virginia and I Florida State last week, extending their losing streak to four, dropping them out of trie rankings from No. 21.

It was the first time since the preseason poll of 1990-91, a stretch of 172 consecutive polls, that North Carolina was not ranked. Meanwhile, Cincinnati remained a jupaway No. 1 in the KA 3" 'The Bearcats (18-1); -who' easily beat Memphis and Marquette last week, were atop the poll for the third straight 1 week and eighth this season, receiving 66 of 70 first-place votes from a nation-2 al media panel. Uttle mistakes can turn a very tight game Teutopolis didn't into a big margin to overcome. "But I was pleased with the way we "That's what happened to us.

We made a few mistakes here and there and See LADY WAVE, B3 LAKE LAND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Another Lindsey TENNIS Capriati in Aussie semifinals MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) '1 A The smile is back, and so are those thunderous groundstrokes into the cor- rl ners that leave echoes in the air. Nearly a decade after landing in her first major semifinals as a precocious, smiling 14year-old, Jennifer Capriati is in the Australian Open semis and chal- lenging for a Grand Slam title again. Right now I believe I can go all the waw finrwifltl said "'it rnmp thic far 1-1 leads Lake Land v. Kris Lindsey nets 28, twin sister Kandy adds 19 in win so I'm not going to think otherwise." If thAre were anv rim ihtc that Partriati at 23, is ready to contend for major titlesf Not even a strained abdominal mus- cle. which caused her to take an eartv "We ran a lot of things to get Kris shots and Kris shot the ball extremely well tonight" Despite the hot hands from the Lindseys, Lake Land led just 41-36 at halftime.

However, the Lady Lakers ripped off a 29-5 run in the first 10 minutes of the second half to seal the victory. "That run put us up 7041 and we just kind of coasted from there," Johnson said. The victory improved Lake Land's record to 15-8 overall. The Lady Lakers will travel to Danville Area Community College on Wednesday night St Mari 36 23 59 UkeUnd 41 40-81 ST. MARY'S OF THE WOODS: Bunch 1-0-3; Griffith 517; Shaw 3-2-8; GrassWt 1-0-2; Auter 311; Griffin 6-4-16; Samforey 1-0-2.

Totals 20-17-59. LAKE LAND: Kr. Lindsay 11-3-28; Ka. Lindsey 5-6-19; Sanders 1-0-2; Landes 2-0-4; Schumacher 1-0- Coy 3-0-7; Rodgers 0-1-1; Modglin 2-0-4; Milleville 1-0-2; Adams 2-M; Sargent 040; Stephen 36; Beyers 12. Totals 32-101.

3-point goals: St Mary's 2 (Bunch, Griffith); Lake Land 7 (Kr. Lindsey 3, Ka. Lindsey 3, Coy) injury timeout, slowed Capriati in a thor- ough 60, 6-2 thrashing of Ai Sugiyama, who had knocked off No. 4 Mary Capriati hadn't reached a Grand XI Slam semifinals since Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 1991, when she was almost universally viewed as the future star of women's tennis: MATTOON Lake Land women's basketball coach Dave Johnson must be leery of this cold weather, for fear it might cool the hot shooting Lindsey sisters.

Kandy Lindsey has had the hot hand recently with 44 points on Saturday against Lincoln. But after all, parents try to teach siblings how to share, so Monday night was Kris Lindsey's turn to light up the scoreboard. She hit three 3s on her way to a game-high 28 points to lead the Lady Lakers to an 81-59 victory over St Mary of the Woods. Kandy Lindsey also maintained her shooting touch with 19 points, including three more 3s, and five assists. "They were really conscious of Kandy tonight," Johnson said.

'i ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO St Louis Rams linebacker London Fletcher, left, had plenty of people asking for autographs Monday after arriving In Atlanta as the Rams prepare for Super Bowl XXXIV. St. Loxiis football town for now 5i Syracuse Masts c' ic': tr lo I ifi .1 in; MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 6 p.m. ESPN Michigan at Indiana 6:30 p.m. ESPN2 Rutgers at St.

John's 8 p.m. ESPN Auburn at Tennessee 8:30 p.m. ESPN2 Xavier at Temple NBA BASKETBALL p.m. FOXSC Chicago at Atlanta 7 p.m. TNT Sacramento at Charlotte SAIUNQ 11p.m.

ESPN2 America's Cup Challenge Rounds, challenger finals, race 2, at Auckland, New Zealand (same-day tape) TENNIS Noon ESPN Australian Open, men's and women's quarterfinals, at Melbourne, Australia (same-day tape) 130 a.m. V' ESPN2 Australian Open, men's and women's quarterfinals, at Melbourne, Australia (delayed tape) ST. LOUIS (AP) Think of St Louis sports, and the images that come to mind are mostly dressed in Cardinals' red, not Rams' royal blue and gold. There's Mark McGwire squinting to watch the ball disappear over the wall; Lou Brock, his foot hitting second base and body popping off the ground on a steal; and Stan Musial lashing a shot to the gap. Yet after the St.

Louis Rams' worst-to-first season, this baseball town has been transformed into a football madhouse, i And on Monday, a day after the Rams rallied to beat Tampa Bay 11-6 for a spot in the Super Bowl, the football fever was still gripping the city. i'l Blue and gold gear, such as jackets, hats and scarves, were proudly worn by Cans throughout the city, and "Go Rams!" posters were displayed in many store windows. "The baseball Cardinals have had a few bad seasons recently while the Rams have been improving their team," fan John Joyce said as he walked along the riverfront "I think the Super Bowl would be even bigger than a World Series." i i St. Louis fans would know. The Cardinals have won more pennants than any team except the New York Yankees.

Even when they're they typically draw around 3 million to Busch Stadium. Football? Until this season St Louis' history was sad, wretched, even pathetic. No city had a professional team longer without so much as a playoff win, and until St Louis hadn't even played host to a postseason game. It started in 1960 when Bill Bidwill moved the football Cardinals to St Louis from Chicago. The Big Red, as they were known, produced some good player's: Hall-of-Famers Jackie Smith (tight end), Lexry Wilson (safety) and Dan Dierdorf (offensive tackle), along with quarterback Jim Hart, running backs Terry Metcalf and Ottis Anderson and receiver Roy Green.

But the teams were rarely good. In 28 St. Louis seasons, the Cardinals made the playoffs, just three times all first-round losses, all on theroad. In 1988, fed up with what he perceived as a lack of civic cooperation on a new stadium, Bidwill took the Cardinals to Phoenix and became a local villain. Some things don't change: In 12 seasons there, the Cardinals have made the playoffs once, though they did finally win a playoff game last season against Dallas.

Connecticut (134, 2-3) was the first ranked team for Syracuse and the Orangemen responded with an emphatic win. The game also added to the questions facing Connecticut; which has lost three of its last six and has now doubled its loss total from last season's national championship run. The start matches the best in Syracuse history as the 1917-18 team also won its first 16 games. Ryan Blackwell had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Syracuse, By 1h Associates' Press SYRACUSE, N.Y. One less question for Syracuse and still no losses.

The fourth-ranked Orangemen remained the nation's only unbeaten team with an 88-74 victory over No. 6 Connecticut on Monday night as six players scored in double figures. Syracuse's first 10 games were all at home and the competition wasn't too steep. Then the Orangemen (16-0, 6-0 Big East) went on the road for three straight games and won all three. 1 i See TOP 25, B3 r- JV -tt MF Jfj.