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Sports
TO P N E W S
LABOR PLAN UP FOR VOTE
NFL owners will vote today whether to accept the players’ proposal for a collective bargaining agreement. D 3
| TUESDAY | MARCH 7, 2006 | SECTION D |
Twins great Puckett dies
Outfielder was known for playing the game with intensity and joy.
By Richard Goldstein
NEW YORK TIMES
LO C A L N E W S
BLUES BACK
After a long trip surrounded by the Olympic break, the Blues finally return home tonight when they face Colorado. D 5
Kirby Puckett, the Hall of Fame outfielder of the Minnesota Twins, acclaimed for his sunny persona and his passion for
baseball, died Monday (March 6, 2006) at a hospital in Phoenix. He was 45. The cause was complications of a stroke he had Sunday at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., the Twins said. Puckett underwent neurosurgery at Scottsdale Osborne Hospital on Sunday, then was transferred to St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, where he died.
At 5 feet 9 inches and around 220 pounds, Puckett hardly bore the frame of a major league star. But he became one of baseball’s premier hitters and a superb center fielder, starring for the Twins from 1984 to 1995. He appeared in 10 consecutive All-Star games, beginning in 1986 in his third season. He led
PLEASE SEE PUCKET T | D4
Kirby Puckett watches a game in April 1996, a month after eye problems forced him to stop playing. Al Bello | Getty Images
TOUGH TOURNEY
If Illinois wins its Big Ten tourney opener late Friday night, it will have to play early Saturday afternoon, which doesn’t sit well with coach Bruce Weber. D 3
WO R L D BA S E BA L L C L A S S I C
| Dom. Republic vs. Venezuela at Kissimmee, Fla., noon
GLOBAL WARMING
Simple goal: Officials hope the tournament will bring new fans to baseball. Top guns: Dominican Republic, Venezuela will each start Cy Young winners.
BILLS BASH
Guard Tommie Liddell is the Atlantic 10 Conference’s rookie of the year and center Ian Vouyoukas is the league’s most improved player. D 3
’HUSKERS AGAIN
Missouri will have to beat Nebraska for the second time in five days Thursday if it wants to advance past the first round of the Big 12 basketball tournament in Dallas. D 3
Linehan wants to keep Bruce
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Teams interested in Bruce
• Detroit Lions • Houston Texans • Washington Redskins
ELSEWHERE
RUETER RETIRES
Former Giants pitcher Kirk Rueter announces his retirement from his home in Nashville, Ill. D 4
IN BRIEF
SWEET CHARLOTTE
NASCAR’s first Hall of Fame will be built in downtown Charlotte, N.C., within miles of the race shops and sprawling mansions that make the region an epicenter of the sport. Officials hope the $107.5 million hall will open in 2009.
If nothing else, Scott Linehan has shown himself to be an upbeat, positive-thinking person during his early tenure as Rams head coach. So it wasn’t surprising to hear Linehan express optimism that wide receiver Isaac Bruce would re-sign with the club after being released Sunday night. “Even though there was a cut that was made, it doesn’t mean in my mind that we’re not going to get a deal done,” Linehan said. “So I feel very positive about resuming talks, and getting that uniform back on our guy. We’ll do everything we can to make that happen.” When asked what made him optimistic about re-signing Bruce, Linehan said: “Because I think we’re in pretty good position to start up the talks again. We’re going to make a commitment to try to get it done. I’m sure there’s other people that look there and say,
PLEASE SEE BRUCE | D3
Linehan on Bruce:
“We’re going to make the effort that needs to be made to try to get it done.”
TENNIS REPLAY
The men’s and women’s tennis tours have decided to use instant replay starting with the Nasdaq-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., this week. This year’s U.S. Open will be the first Grand Slam event to review disputed calls electronically.
Albert Pujols strikes a pose in his Dominican Republic uniform. Jamie Squire | Getty Images
Rams sign Glover to bolster defense
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
ONLINE
DAILY TIPSHEET
For a daily look at what’s in (March Madness) and what’s out (sportsmanship) in the world of sports, read Jeff Gordon’s “Tipsheet” blog at STLtoday.com/gordo
By Rick Hummel
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
L A K E B U E N A V I STA , F L A . • To
illustrate the importance of this afternoon’s Dominican RepublicVenezuela game in the World Baseball Classic, consider that Venezuela will start 2004 American League Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana and follow him with Chicago Cubs buzzbomber Carlos Zambrano. The Dominican Republic will counter with 2005 AL Cy Young
Award winner Bartolo Colon. Though these two teams probably will play twice more before this three-week exercise is over, this game may be the premier matchup of the 16-team tournament, which commissioner Bud Selig hopes creates even more worldwide interest in baseball. Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, the reigning NL most valuable player and poster person for the Dominican Republic team, appears as excited as anyone about the tournament because he never has played
for his native land. “You can’t say that it’s going to be good for baseball until everything is over, but I think it’s probably going to bring more people to the game,” he said. “If it turns out to be really good, how many people are going to be waiting every four years for it? “I think it’s going to be awesome. But you never know.” There have been significant cancellations, such as Manny Ramirez, Aramis Ramirez and Vladimir
PLEASE SEE WBC | D4
It wasn’t that long ago that defensive tackle La’Roi Glover wreaked havoc on the St. Louis offense on a regular basis. Now the Rams are hoping that Glover is the first step in the rebuilding process of a defense that ranked 30th in the NFL last season. Glover, a salary cap casualty a few days ago in Dallas, signed a three-year deal with the Rams on Monday. According to league sources, the contract is worth $12 million, including a signing bonus of $3.5 million. “This is an exciting ‘sign’ for us,” Rams coach Scott Linehan said. “It’s a big need area for us. We’ve spent a lot of time evaluating this
PLEASE SEE RAMS | D3
Glover’s career statistics
331
solo tackles
140
assists tackles
7 1 1⁄ 2
sacks
2
interceptions
15
fumbles forced
C O M E BAC K TO M O R R OW
Orioles give Cardinals pitching another round of punishment
By Joe Strauss
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
SLU’s prize freshmen
Kevin Lisch Tommie Liddell
FORT L AUDERDALE , FL A . •
Sports
The schedule reminds us it’s early. The scoreboard tells the Cardinals that’s a good thing. Once again Monday, this time against the depleted Baltimore Orioles, the Cardinals unveiled pitchers bent on rehabilitation or some other sort of change. And once again they were punished for the effort. Starter Jason Marquis went public with his commitment to a different pitch immediately before righthanded set-up man Braden Looper pitched in a game for the first time since shoulder surgery in October. Trailing 3-0,
the Orioles responded by chasing Marquis from a four-run third inning that necessitated Looper entering a rally in progress. Each pitcher found room for positives in a 12-8 beating. “For me, it was more about going out there to see how I feel,” said Looper, the former New York Mets closer who signed a three-year, $13.5 million contract in December to serve as warm-up act for Jason Isringhausen. “It’s the first time after surgery facing hitters. They were hacking at the first pitch I threw every time. It was a good Jason Marquis pitches Monday against Baltimore. first test.” James A. Finley | The Associated PLEASE SEE CARDINALS | D4 Press
M O N DAY ’S G A M E Orioles 12, Cardinals 8
Brian Daubach’s two-run home run and Skip Schumaker’s RBI single put the Cardinals up 3-0 after two innings before the Orioles reached starter Jason Marquis for four runs in the third inning. The Orioles had five multiple-hit innings. Braden Looper allowed two runs in the fourth inning and five hits in his 11⁄3-inning appearance. Right fielder Chris Duncan drove the offense with a single, double and a monstrous fifth-inning home run that left Fort Lauderdale Stadium. Catcher Greg Bennett contributed two hits, as did Schumaker. The Orioles raked six pitchers for eight extra-base hits. The Cardinals’ crush of pitchers is likely to be eased in the next two days.
TO DAY ’S G A M E
Up next: Cardinals vs. LA Dodgers, 12:05 p.m., Roger Dean Stadium Starting pitchers: Jeff Suppan vs. Brett Tomko
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