European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 14, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday August 14, 1990 the stars and stripes Pago 25 i Rainey wins in Sweden hrs title ande Storp Sweden a Wayne Rainey of the United states held off two rivals Down the Homestretch to win the swedish Soock motorcycling grand prix sunday virtually clinching the world championship. Rainey Riding a Yamaha finished 1.149 seconds ahead of Fel Low California teammate Eddie Lawson in a razor thin finish after battling for 30 laps around the scandinavian raceway circuit. Wayne Gardner of Australia aboard a Honda was 3.564 seconds behind for third. It was Rainey s sixth grand prix Victory in 12 races this season and he now has a commanding 47 Point Lead in the 15-race series. Fellow american Kevin Schwantz who captured the Brit ish grand prix ahead of Rainey last it Kend and held the pole Here spun off the track after Only three laps and withdrew. The 26 year old texan is second in the standings with 173 Points and is the Only rider who can catch Rai . Rainey 29, Only needs to finish fourth in one of the three remain ing grand prix races to wrap up the championship. But i Don t want to hear about me being world Champion yet said Rainey who fell Here last year and lost a Chance to win the title. I m As far away from the championship now As when the season Mike Doohan an Australia Riding a Honda was 22.335 seconds behind for fourth place Sun Day. Doohan is third Overall with135 Points. Carlos Cardus of Spain aboard a Honda edged Yamaha rider John Kocinski of the United states by 0.080 seconds to win a thrilling 250cc event. Masahiro Shimizu of Japan was third 0.299 seconds be Hind on a Honda. Litke from Page 23 steadying Par. He headed for the club House in regulation and at a Safe enough distance watched both couples and Morgan self destruct. It was the longest Day of my i hit the second shot on 18," Grady fretted i would t let myself get ahead of there is no danger of that any longer no need to worry about that place in Golf history. It is even now being etched into the Side of the Wanamaker trophy. And it does t matter How hard you scratch he said you Aren t going to get my name off it " and neither should Golf or golfers for a h the promises made at Shoal Creek. On saturday the . Golf association confirmed that Shoal Creek has submitted a bid to play Host to the National championship in 1996. When officials review that bid they will remember a Scenic course Large galleries warm Ala Bama weather and big Bucks. They would do Well though not to forget its title is the . Open. The associated press radio baseball san Francisco at Phila Ipchiu 1 30 . Wednesday. No easy Days for relievers by Ronald Blu map sports writer when the game is on the line Dennis Eckersley and Bobby Thigpen arc on the Mound. No easy afternoons or evenings for these Guys no such thing As a Large Lead. Every pitch is crucial each delivery Crit ical spinning toward Home with the potential to blow the game. They arc the closers the last line of defense. They arc under constant pres sure and Loving it. Every Day i m stressed out eckers icy said because every Day i m pre pared to pitch even if i Don t he began the weekend with a major league leading 37 saves Thigpen had 36 for Chicago which is chasing Oakland and Eckersley in the american league West. Both Are on Pace to break Dave High Coli s record of 46 saves in a season. Whichever one of us or if anybody does it this year i think possibly next year or the year after it will be broken again Thigpen said. I think if somebody gets 47, or what Ever it is Eckersley said somebody is going to get 50 one of these Days the saves alone Don t show How extraordinarily effective these two relievers have been. Eckersley has blown just one save Opportunity All year and Thigpen has blown Only five. Eckersley has Al Lowed just two of 24 inherited runners to score and Thigpen has allowed in four of they credit their Success to the Way they Are used. Tony la Russa of Oakland and Jeff Torborg 9f Chicago Seldom let their Relief stars pitch More than an in Ning. Eckersley has pitched two or More innings just three times and Thigpen has done it four times. You can still blow a save Here and there Eckersley said but if you had to go 2 2-3 or two innings Here and two innings there you would blow a lot More Eckersley is helped by Ama ing control. For him a walk is an event. He s Given up just three in 50 1-3 innings. I told him at the All Star game our lockers were next to each other and i was hoping some of that stuff would Ruboff on my clothes Thigpen said. They know i m going to throw strikes Eckersley said. They have a Good Chance of guessing right but it might be paint too. If they take it it might be a strike. If they swing it might be Eckersley was a starter for 12 year before he was traded from the cubs to Oakland in 1987. When they first wanted him to do this he did t want to because he thought it was a demotion Thigpen said. Now everybody wants to do Thigpen has been a closer since the1987 ail Star break. I was a set up Man the first part of 87," Thigpen said. Then they tried to make me a starter and i left class aaa Hawaii with a 6 when things go Well everything seems so easy for these Guys. But the mistakes Are impossible to forget. Eckersley will never be Able to put put of his mind Kirk Gibson s game winning Home run in the opener of the 1988 world series. It s a glorious Job but it stinks when you give it up Eckersley said. That s when you have to appreciate those cheap saves. All it takes is one. Blown sae and it s Dave stating. I just can t wait to pet Back put there. I just Thigpen can t let the mistakes out of his mind either. You never he said. The highest thing like Dennis said is to pet out Here As soon As possible. 1 remember one night this season it looked like it was pomp to be a cheap save 4-1 with one Man on Iti the ninth. Nine pitches later the panic was Over two two run homers with arive pitch walk. The next night i came on with two on in the eighth. I get a double play and a Popup and strike out the Side in the ninth. It helps you but you never forget. I Don t think you should forget. I think you should remember those bad times. It helps you try a Little Thigpen says he s tenser than lockers Ley that he Levels the buildup watching the game from the bullpen. Dennis goes out there about he seventh inning Thigpen said. I go out there the first pitch. I wish 1 could take the Dennis Thigpen is trying to be on a Winner for the first time. Even though Oakland won the world series last year Eckersley feels a tremendous urgency to do it again. We did t do it the right Way he said. The Earth ukr put a Damper on everything out Here. We want it now they Are at the top of the stretch. Two pitchers chasing a record on two teams chasing a Pennant. The pressure keeps building and that s what they inc. As much pressure As they can take. I know Dennis probably would t Trade it for Thi pen said. The Rudd records Lascar Victory Watkins Glen . A Ricky Rudd kept his Cool during a difficult first half and wound up running off with the Budweiser at the Glen Nas car Stock car race sunday at Watkins Glen International. The Victory gave the Hendrick my to sports team which Fields four cars in most Winston cup events its first win of the season. Rudd who spun out on the i oth of 90 laps in the 219-mile race after bumping Geoff Bodine in heavy traffic also had to make two unscheduled pit stops be cause of Flat tires. The second came on Lap 42 after he had worked his Way into the Lead with the Aid of a pair of Early caution flags. But the 33-year-old Driver from Chesapeake va., kept hustling his Chevrolet Lumina and moving toward the front As most of the leaders experienced some Type of problem on the narrow winding seven turn 2.428-mile Road circuit. Rudd got Back to second place behind series Point Leader Mark Martin on Lap 49, during the third of five caution Peri ods. He regained the Lead on Lap 66 when Martin pitted. His own final scheduled Stop came on Lap 73. Two laps later All the top competitors had made their stops except for Alan Kulwicki who was in front of Rudd. Finally on Lap 81, Kulwicki ducked into the pits for Gas. His Ford thunderbird came out trailing Rudd by 9.23 seconds and Rudd built that margin to i i seconds by the end of Lap 83, apparently on the Way to a runaway. At that Point hut Stricklin and Sarel Der Merwe of South Africa subbing for injured Hendrick Driver Darrell Wai trip collided and hit the Guardrail in the final turn. That brought out the last Cau Tion Flag and bunched the leaders for a three Lap shootout. Rudd got a Good jump at the Green Flag and Kulwicki who had a slipping clutch held up the rest of the pack Long enough to allow Rudd to race away. He crossed the finish line 6.54 seconds ahead of Geoff Bodine who held on Toni his younger brother Brett for second place. Michael Waltrip was third Fol Lowed by Martin who had two Flat tires late in the race Morgan Shepherd and trouble plagued Dale Earnhardt who came into the event just one Point be Hind Martin and having won three of thelast four races. Rudd averaged 92.452 Mph As he won $55,000 for his 11th career Victory second at Watkins Glen and first since the Road race at Sonoma calif., in june of 1989. This race was shaping up As a personal Battle Between pole starter Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace before those two tangled on Lap 45. They had dominated the first half of the race taking turns in the Lead. Earnhardt who was leading at the time tagged Wallace As the second place runner attempted to get past in the first turn. The cars came together with earn Hardt spinning and Wallace getting into the grass. Geoff Bodine who had been running third inherited the Lead and Wallace wound up fourth. Earnhardt fell Back in the pack but remained on the Lead Lap. As the leaders passed the finish line at the end of Lap 46, the engine on Wal lace s Pontiac blew. That ended his dominance in Nas car s Road races. He had won five of the previous seven Road course events including last year s race Here and finished second in the other two. Too bad Wallace said a was really running Well. I think i had pm Earnhardt who now trails Martin by 10 Points 2,669-2,659, got Back to third place at one Point. Kulwicki passed him Abr that spot and Earnhardt lost More ground on Lap 84 when he made Contact with another car and spun on the Back stretch. None of the on track incidents were serious or caused injury but two Crew men did sustain minor injuries in a pit Road Accident. Barry Swift 22, of Stony Point. N.c., a member of Michael Waltrip s Crew was taken to a Hospital for precautionary rays to his head and Ncik and stitches to close a two Inch Cut on his lace after he was hit by an air gun that Tow into the air during a Stop by Waltrip s car Kaiserslautern wins is softball meet Berlin Kaiserslautern scored twice on errors in the Bottom of the seventh sunday to beat Ludwig Surg kor Westheim 9-8 and win the usar Lur Junior a girls softball championship. Tia Hubbard Melinda Adames and Roxanne Best got the winning rally going with consecutive singles. Hubbard was thrown out at the plate on Best s hit but Adames and Best later scored on infield errors. Ludwigs Burg kor Westheim took a 6 3 Lead with five runs in the fourth inning. Singles by Ecky Cleaton Eveline Rosado and Chelsey Harrison keyed the rally. After la upped its Lead to 7-3 in the top of the fifth a town rallied for four runs in the Bottom half As Hubbard and Best delivered singles and Jamie Anua came through with a two run Tuple. Ludwigs Burg went ahead x-7 m inc seventh before Kaiserslautern rallied Lor the Victory scoring the decisive run Wahto outs. Host s 3-for-4 Eliot paced the i with teammates Hubbard and going 2 for 4. I Larson the loves. Or 4 for
