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For The Record
Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, five-time Stanley
Cup-winning goalie Grant Fuhr and high-scoring center Pat
LaFontaine. Fuhr, whose 92 playoff wins are second to Patrick
Roy's, anchored the Wayne Gretzky-and Mark Messier-led Oilers of
the '80s. He played for five other teams and retired in 2000 with
403 regular-season wins, sixth alltime. Fuhr won his first Cup in
'84 when Edmonton beat the Islanders, and LaFontaine. In Game 3
LaFontaine crashed into Fuhr, knocking him out of the series with
a bruised right shoulder. A five-time All-Star, the 5'10",
180-pound LaFontaine had 468 goals and 1,013 points in 15 seasons
before his career was cut short by concussions.
Died of complications from blood disease, Sam Schulman, 93, the
first owner of the SuperSonics, whose signing of Spencer Haywood
in 1970 paved the way for undergraduates to play in the NBA.
League rules barred teams from signing players until four years
after high school, but the SuperSonics signed Haywood, who had
graduated in '67. "I couldn't see any logical reason for keeping
a man from making a living," Schulman said in 1997. "I thought it
was unconstitutional." After a long legal battle--during which
Haywood sometimes played and was sometimes barred by temporary
injunctions--the Supreme Court agreed, striking the rule and
allowing Haywood to play. Schulman sold the Sonics in '83.
Completed his freshman season with James Monroe High in the
Bronx, lefty Danny Almonte. In 2001, when he was 14 and had moved
to New York from the Dominican Republic, Almonte posed as a
12-year-old and led the Rolando Paulino All-Stars to third place
in the Little League World Series before the scandal (SI, Sept.
3, 2001) led his team to be disqualified. Almonte, now 16, went
10-1 this year with a 1.40 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 63 innings
but gave up three runs in two innings in an 8-7 loss to
Tottenville in last Saturday's PSAL title game. Also an
outfielder, Almonte batted .457.
Cursed the locker to the right of Greg Maddux's in the Braves
clubhouse. When the team moved to Turner Field in 1997, shortstop
Jeff Blauser had the locker, a coveted corner stall. Blauser
wasn't re-signed, and since then Dennis Martinez (retired), Bret
Boone (traded), Wally Joyner (free agent), Chris Seelbach
(minors), Joe Nelson (minors), Ken Caminiti (released) and Damian
Moss (traded) have had the locker; none lasted more than a
season. Maddux says it's a fine locker--"if you want to play
somewhere for a year." The current occupant: first baseman Robert
Fick, who vows to break the curse. "I'm special," he says.
Changed uniforms before every inning of his 300th victory,
Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens. "I felt like Superman changing in
a phone booth," he said after lasting into the seventh to beat
the Cardinals and become the 21st man to win 300 games, the same
night he became the third to strike out 4,000 batters. Clemens
said he will give uniforms to family members, including his four
sons.
COLOR PHOTO: ANTHONY NESTE (FUHR) Fuhr
COLOR PHOTO: RICHARD ADDICKS/ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION (LOCKER)
COLOR PHOTO: MARK GOLDMAN/ICON SMI (FICK) Unphased: Fick
