Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.sports From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: sports Fri, Jun 5 1992 Date: Fri, 5 Jun 92 05:20:08 EDT Message-ID: 06-05 0000 DECISIONLINE: Sports USA TODAY Update June 5-7, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network SELES, GRAF ADVANCE TO FINAL: Top seed Monica Seles goes for a fifth consecutive grand slam title Saturday at the French Open. Two-time defending champion Seles faces No. 2 Steffi Graf, the 1987-88 champion, in the final. "I will be ready," said Graf, who beat Spain's Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 0-6, 6-2, 6-2 Thursday. Seles defeated Argentina's Gabriela Sabatini 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the other semifinal. COURIER TAKES ON AGASSI: Defending champ Jim Courier, the top seed, faces No. 11 Andre Agassi in a rematch of last year's final in the French Open men's semifinals Friday. Courier, No. 1 in the world, is on a 21-match winning streak and won the Australian Open, first leg of the grand slam. In the other semifinal, No. 7 Petr Korda plays French hero Henri Leconte, who is unseeded. The winners square off Sunday. BLAZERS EXPECTED TO BOUNCE BACK: Michael Jordan might have been unstoppable and the Chicago Bulls invincible in the first game of the NBA Finals, but they're expecting to face a completely different Portland Trail Blazers for Game 2 Friday. "The Trail Blazers are a very good team and have a great ability to bounce back," Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson said. Jordan had 39 points Wednesday in Game 1, a 122-89 rout. A.P. INDY FAVORED IN BELMONT: A colt who didn't even run in the Kentucky Derby or Preakness is favored in Saturday's 124th Belmont Stakes. A.P. Indy, sidelined from the Derby and Preakness with a foot bruise, is a 6-5 favorite. Derby winner Lil E. Tee will miss the race after experiencing respiratory bleeding in the Preakness. Preakness winner Pine Bluff and Casual Lies are the other top contenders in Saturday's race. PIRATES THUMP METS: Barry Bonds had a homer and a double as the Pittsburgh Pirates dumped the New York Mets Thursday 7-2. Doug Drabek (4-4) won for the first time in eight starts. Bobby Bonilla went 0 for 4 in his first game at Three Rivers Stadium since signing a $29.5 million contract with the Mets. In other NL action: Houston 12, San Francisco 6; Los Angeles 7, Cincinnati 4. MITCHELL POWERS MARINERS: Kevin Mitchell hit two home runs, including his first grand slam, Thursday to lead the Seattle Mariners over the Cleveland Indians 10-3. Mitchell had five RBI to equal his career high. Ken Griffey Jr. also homered twice for the Mariners. In other American League action: Detroit 6, New York 2; Minnesota 15, Texas 12. TOP TEAMS IN AL EAST SQUARE OFF: The top two teams in the American League East do battle this weekend. The Toronto Blue Jays and The Baltimore Orioles will play a three-game series at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Blue Jays have beaten the Orioles eight of their last nine meetings. In the AL West, the big shootout is in Texas, where the Rangers and Minnesota Twins continue their four-game series. STEINBRENNER TO BE REINSTATED: Commissioner Fay Vincent will reinstate Yankees majority owner George Steinbrenner next week, USA TODAY columnist Hal Bodley reports Friday. Vincent's decision will permit Steinbrenner to run the club in any role he desires effective at the start of next season, thus ending the ban enacted July 20, 1989. A strict probationary clause is expected to be included in the deal. LOPEZ, HENKE LEAD GOLF TOURNEYS: Nancy Lopez leads the LPGA McDonald's Championship. Lopez shot 4-under-par 67 Thursday at du Pont Country Club in Wilmington, Del., to tie Ayako Okamoto and Katie Peterson-Parker. Nolan Henke leads the PGA Tour Memorial Tournament. Henke, playing in a chilly rain, had eight birdies in a 7-under 65 at Muirfield Village Golf Club at Dublin, Ohio, for a two-stroke lead over Mark Brooks. PITTSBURGH HONORS PENGUINS: An estimated 40,000 gathered at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh Thursday to cheer the repeating Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. It was a raucous affair. Coach Scotty Bowman, who'd just won his sixth Stanley Cup, recalled his predecessor, Bob Johnson, who died of cancer last November. "The coach of the Penguins will always be Bob Johnson," he said. WORLD BOWL TO FEATURE OFFENSE: An expected World Bowl II crowd of 45,000 probably won't see much defense Saturday when Sacramento and Orlando meet at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Sacramento quarterback David Archer, 30, a former NFL starter, was the league's MVP with six 300-yard games. Orlando's Scott Mitchell, a young left-hander, threw for 219 yards and three TDs in the Thunder's 45-7 semifinal rout of Birmingham. HANEY TO HEAD COACHES: Big West Commissioner Jim Haney Thursday was named executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He succeeds Joe Vancisin, who retired after 17 years. The group also announced it was moving its headquarters from Branford, Conn., to the Kansas City, Mo., area. 24-HOUR TELEPHONE INFORMATION: USA TODAY Sports Hot Line. 95 cents a minute. 1-900-555-5555. Sports Editor: Ed Kelleher. (919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM