Section A · Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, April 13, 2000
Sports
Oilers to try to topple Stars in Stanley Cup's first round
The Associated Press
DALLAS — Every up-and-coming team has a nemesis that's a notch better and keeps getting in the way of a breakthrough.
Before the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup last year, their nemesis was the Detroit Red Wings, winner of the two previous NHL titles.
While the Stars were targeting the Wings, they became targets themselves. The Edmonton Oilers know that to return to the NHL's elite, they will have to topple Dallas.
Starting tonight, the Oilers get another chance.
The Stars' defense of the first Stanley Cup in franchise history begins in earnest with a thirdstraight first-round series against Edmonton.
Nobody would blame Dallas players if they were a bit cocky. After all, they were 3-01 against the Oilers this season and swept
them in last year's playoffs.
But cautious is a better way to describe the Stars.
They remember the three overtime games in last year's first round, including the triple-overtime finale. They also know that every game in that series, and all three Dallas victories this season,
were decided by one goal
by the goal.
"They're going to be coming at us hard," said Joe Nieuwendyk, who scored the triple-overtime winner in last year's playoffs.
"More than ever, they want to win now."
"To be the best, you're going to have to beat the best," right wing Bill Guerin said. "It's not going to
The Oliers are eager to see how they stack up against the Stars.
be easy; it's always tough. They're the defending champions."
Dallas has dealt with injuries to key players all season and is still facing them.
Jere Lehtinen, the league's best defensive forward the last two years, has played only one of the last 66 games because of an ankle problem. He's been cleared to play in the games but won't practice as a precaution.
Defenseman Sergei Zubov, the trigger man on the Stars' power play, has a torn knee ligament and won't play the first two games of the series. Dallas is hoping to have him for Game 3 Sunday in Edmonton.
Even with those absences, Dallas still has four productive lines and can use six defensemen. And they have Eddie Belfour blocking the net better than ever.
Edmonton's Tommy Salo had a strong year with a .914 save percentage, but he is still looking for his first postseason victory.
Johnson ready for challenge in Tampa Bay
The Associated Press
TAMPA. Fla. — Keyshawn Johnson was in Tampa yesterday wearing his new team's jersey.
He will join the Buccaneers after agreeing to an eight-year deal worth nearly $7 million a season, with a signing bonus of about $13 million. He immediately becomes the best wideout in Tampa Bay history.
The two-time Pro Bowl receiver arrived at the Bucs' training complex shortly before his new teammates began a conditioning workout.
Johnson, wearing red
shorts and matching No. 19 Buc jersey, emerged from the rear of the team's headquarters.
have to go and you have to learn a new scheme and a new system all over again and learn what the NFC is all about," Johnson said. "I think I mastered the AFC East in four years and now I have to learn about the NFC Central."
With the trade complete, Johnson will be getting more money, the Buccaneers will be getting their first game-breaking receiver and the New York Jets will be getting two more first-round draft picks.
From the trade, the Jets will receive the 13th and 27th overall picks, making them the first team ever with four first-rounders. The others. No.16 and No. 18, were allocated to the Jets at the end of last season. The teams with the worst records receive the best picks.
"I look at it as another draft situation where you
The trade started on Tuesday and was finalized yesterday after the Bucs negotiated with Johnson's agent, Jerome Stanley.
"I'm excited about the opportunity to start over again, to go in and prove myself all over again," Johnson said. "I welcome the challenge. I think Tampa Bay is getting a fine receiver."
The new contract dwarfs the $2.4 million that Johnson would have made this year with the Jets. In his four NFL seasons, Johnson has caught 305 passes for 4,108 yards and snagged 31 touchdowns.
Olympic boss to cut budgets from 20 sports
The Associated Press
BOSTON — U.S. Olympic Committee boss Norm Blake plans to push through a radical change this weekend that would slash the budgets of 20 sports. Blake declared that the bottom line is the medal count and the goal is to enrich other more traditional powerhouses like swimming.
Other big winners in Blake's plan are expected to be gymnastics, figure skating, ice hockey, track and field, and boxing. The losers would be sports such as team handball, biathlon, field hockey, weightlifting and table tennis.
"We feel we are accountable to making America proud and that comes down to the medal count." Blake said before presenting his plan to the 19-member USOC executive committee on Friday. "So we are consciously allocating resources to that end, which means we are taking from some to give more to others."
By eliminating or sharply cutting what Blake called "low value-added programs," the USOC hopes to speed the development of athletes, improve coaching and boost the overall haul of medals.
"I've employed sort of a portfolio management discipline where we've attempted to evaluate the medal potential that each sport has and then to critically assess the capability of that sport to achieve the winning of those medals," Blake said.
Of the 45 national governing bodies of the sports the USOC funds, including 39 Olympic national bodies, about half are going to feel cuts, Blake said.
The USOC, which budgeted $160 million for grants to the national governing bodies from 1997 through 2000, should not waste money on sports with a small following in the United States and little hope of medals. Blake said.
"There are certain sports that are not indigenous to the United States, so the available feedstock of potential athletes is limited, the amount of support available in the U.S. from a fund raising standpoint is limited, and we are therefore disadvantaged," he said.
Each national governing body will be evaluated on its own merits, and some will suffer deeper cuts than others for the next few years, he said.
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