Section B·Page 4
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, October 28, 1999
New York fans celebrate 1999 World Series sweep
By Jason Walker
by Jason Walker
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Even in Kansas, Yankee pintripes were the uniform last night.
The New York Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-1 last night and claimed the 1999 World Series title. It was their third in the last four years under manager Joe Torre and the 25th in team history, the most by any major league team.
Yankee fans in Lawrence watched the game at home or at local bars, hoping for a sweep in the series against the Braves, who had the best regular-season record in the majors.
Corey Hoover, Wichita junior,
watched the game at Sports Page
Brewery, 3512 Clinton Parkway. He said that the sweep by the Yankees was impressive because of the caliber team they faced in the Braves.
"It's incredible that they took them in four games straight," he said. "Especially in the World Series."
Hoover said that he considered the Yankees the team of the decade
"How could they not be?" he said.
"They're the all-American team."
Kevin Neimor, Milwaukee senior, watched the game at Duffy's, 2222 W. 6th St. He said that he had been a Yankees fan since he was 4 years old, and that he loved seeing them take another World Series title.
"Oh man, I've liked them forever," he said. "I was with them
through thick and thin, when they weren't so good in the '80s, to the '90s when they got better. Ever since I saw them play with guys like Don Mattingly and Ron Guidry, I was hooked."
Neimor said there was no question in his mind who was the best team in the 1990s.
"They're by far the team of the decade," he said. "They're the team of the decade, century and millennium."
Neimor said he didn't know what next season held in store for his beloved Yanks, but he hoped for the best.
"I'm making no predictions," he said. "Anything can happen. If they play with a lot of heart, they can do anything."
- Edited by Kelly Clasen
Clemens slays Series demons; Rivera gets MVP
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — The Rocket can rest now. The ring is his.
Roger Clemens pitched the New York Yankees to their secondstraight World Series sweep, shutting down the Atlanta Braves 4-1 last night and ending his quest for the one and only prize that eluded him.
"This must be what it's like to be a Yankee." Clemens said.
With raucous fans waving yellow, plastic brooms all over the ballpark and Clemens bouncing around on the mound, the Yankees won their record 25th championship and third in four seasons.
Yankees take their 25th title
Game 4 marked New York's 12th Series victory in a row, matching the mark set by its Murders' Row
teams.
Clemens waited his entire career for this moment and, at last, commanded the October stage. Showing the form that earned him five Cy Young Awards and 247 wins in 16 seasons, Clemens shut out Atlanta into the eighth to outduel John Smoltz.
Brought to the Bronx this spring from Toronto in a trade for David Wells that many Yankees fans disliked, Clemens walked off the mound to rousing cheers, tipping his cap and holding both hands high to acknowledge the ovation.
Mariano Rivera, who had two saves and a win in the Series, was selected MVP.
"I wasn't thinking about it," he said.
"It just happens."
For Atlanta, the game's loss was its record-tying eighth straight in the Series, a string that began in 1996 against the Yankees. It surely was a bitter disappointment for the Braves and manager Bobby Cox.
"I think they think in their minds that they had a tremendous year
with all the ball club went through," Cox said. "They're disappointed just like I am."
After winning the title in 1996, they had "Team of the 90s" engraved on their rings. Instead, they joined the New York Giants of 1910-19 as the only teams ever to lose four World Series in a decade.
Clemens and the sellout crowd of 56,752 fans, meanwhile, basked in pintripped glory after taking an early 3-10 lead. At 37, he won his first championship — John Elway was the same age when he won his first Super Bowl.
Featuring a fastball in the mid-90s mph, Clemens struck out four and walked two in his first World Series victory — he got two no-decisions in 1986 when his Boston Red Sox blew it against the New York Mets.
The Yankees finished off a week in which they simply overwhelmed the club that had best record in the majors and accomplished a lot more along the way. They became baseball's first repeat champion since Toronto in 1992-93.
November 13,1999 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Deadline to sign up is 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10. Registration limited to 36 teams.
)