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Probably not. But there's also no question that Mother Nature is more powerful than the legendary Golden Bear. We saw that in a ferocious way.
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Of course, he stressed that things could change if more bad weather hit, but as of Saturdaynight, the plan called for a restart at 7 this morning. ``Then our hope is to repair and begin Round 4 at 9:15,'' said Moraghan, who reiterated that the USGA does not play lift-clean-and-place. ``That's not an option.''
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Nelson, meanwhile, was machine-like. He started with three pars, birdied the par-4 fourth, then strung together 10 consecutive pars to keep himself in the thick of things.
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``I mean, I really worked hard (to come back),'' said Sigel, the onetime amateur icon who had surgery on both shoulders _ last November for the left, January for the right. ``The pain? I never experienced pain like that. I slept in a chair for the first three weeks. I couldn't sleep at all.''
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Unlike Quigley, Aoki and Nelson never had to return to the hunt, for they methodically went about their duties. A bogey-bogey start pushed Aoki out of the lead, but he righted the ship with a birdie at the par-5 sixth, then six straight pars before the storm hit.
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Some of them hope the magic continues. Like Colbert, who turned in even-par 35, ran off four straight pars, then joined in the fun at the par-5 14th. Earlier, Nicklaus and Doyle had scored eagles. Colbert did likewise, putting from just off the fringe to get to even par. Then, he nearly knocked down the pin at the par-3 15th, converted that 4-footer, and found himself with a red 1 next to his name.
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Terrific stuff, but the guys behind him had a few good acts, too.
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But the applause had barely settled after his closing birdie completed a 1-under-par 69 and gave him the clubhouse lead at 3-over 213 when Nicklaus was upstaged by a more powerful force: Mother Nature. With a frightening flurry of punches _ lightning, torrential rain, high winds, and even hail _ the landscape quickly changed from charge to retreat as 14 players and thousands of spectators were rushed from the course.
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``You know, it was a tough match,'' said Hewitt, a first-round victim here last year but winner of his last 15 grass matches and two preparatory events in a row on the surface entering the fortnight. ``It was a lot tougher than I thought. I was really struggling. I've definitely got to go up, play a lot better if I have a good chance of winning it.''
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Mauresmo was dumped by Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-4, 6-4. Kafelnikov self-destructed against Guillermo Canas, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). Grosjean departed, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, at the hands of Nicolas Escude.
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Otherwise, ratings superiority again was the norm.
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On the women's side, the status quo held for No. 2 Venus Williams (6-2, 6-2 over Elena Likhovtseva), No. 3 Lindsay Davenport (6-2, 6-3 over Patty Schnyder), No. 7 Kim Clijsters (7-5, 6-2 over Angeles Montolio), and No. 9 Nathalie Tauziat (6-0, 6-3 over Iroda Tulyaganova).
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The only sweat was expended by Hewitt, whose match against El Aynaoui was only slightly less arduous than his last appearance on Centre Court, a five-set ordeal against Taylor Dent Thursday. Not until the fourth-set tiebreaker, after each man had held serve throughout, did Hewitt pull away from El Aynaoui, 7-4, on a service winner.
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The double-your-pleasure format is being baptized at Wimbledon, and through the first week, for the most part, it worked as designed and desired.
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Mauresmo was on a 31-4 roll, including an Australian Open runner-up finish earlier this year, but came here slumping and uncertain. She played tentatively throughout her stay, and Saturday was no exception.
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Kafelnikov, a past winner of the French and Australian opens, has captured more than 500 career matches. That's a sign of overkill as much as achievement, and his nerves seem frayed after all that mileage. Against Canas, he showed it by double-faulting on set point in the fourth, then getting brutalized in the climactic tiebreaker, 7-2.
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But at 31, Agassi knows this is two tournaments, and he can't expect any more 70-minute walkovers, as he had against Massu.
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``I think Wimbledon is a different tournament in the second week,'' he said. ``Certainly, the level of competition is such that you feel like, you know, you're playing the best in the world.''
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``It was tough'' to recover, she said. ``I was really waiting for the first win (here). I just need maybe these couple matches, you know, to have all my confidence back.''
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For the true elite, the top five, the new system was made to order.
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``I don't know,'' she said. And she made that obvious against Tanasugarn.
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Among the top 10 men and women, 14 of the 20 advanced to the second week, when the challenges get serious and the pretenders are memories.
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But as Kafelnikov showed, the paper isn't always reliable, even when it's twice the size it once was.
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On the other hand, five of the six top 10 casualties at the All England Lawn Tennis Club have occurred in the past two days. No. 8 man Juan Carlos Ferrero and No. 10 woman Elena Dementieva exited Friday. Saturday, in the bottom half of the third round, they were joined by three others among the upper crust: sixth-ranked woman Amelie Mauresmo; Yevgeny Kafelnikov, seventh among the men; and No. 9 male Sebastien Grosjean.
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Among the men, No. 2 Andre Agassi (6-3, 6-1, 6-1 over Nicolas Massu), No. 3 Patrick Rafter (7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 7-5 over Hicham Arazi), No. 5 Lleyton Hewitt (7-5, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) over Younes El Aynaoui), and No. 10 Thomas Enqvist (7-5, 6-4, 6-2 over Wayne Black) took care of their final formalities.
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Unlike this week, which was made smoother _ somewhat, at least _ by those extra seeds.
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There has been only one true shocker _ top women's seed Martina Hingis's first-round ouster Monday.
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``It is the pressure, yes,'' he said. ``You know, knowing that, you know, the draw on your side is wide open and on the paper you are the favorite to go through to a certain part in the tournament, which was the quarterfinals.''
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Nervous? Jack Nicklaus is nervous? It just doesn't fit.
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He must have sensed something special Saturday, too. As he reclined in that armchair, nothing shook him. He was covered by a flimsy tent, which was being pelted by rain. Everyone else in the room began to look around when the wind shook the tent and lightning struck, but Nicklaus kept talking about golf. At times, the rain drowned out his voice, but he kept talking about golf.
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Jack Nicklaus sat in an armchair Saturday, talking golf and waiting out the rain. He was at Salem Country Club, but it could have been a scene from his family room. He was relaxed as a crowd gathered, waiting to hear yet another rainy day tale from a golf legend.
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Nicklaus said he told Finchem he'd rather play the regular Tour and miss the cut. At least then he would know he'd been challenged. He is being pushed now, and the feeling is he spent all night rummaging through his archives, trying to come up with something special for Sunday. Fans will follow him regardless of how well he plays, but all of them will watch with similar thoughts. They hope they are there when he unleashes one of his Nicklaus Samplers, reminding them why they fell in love with him in the first place.
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``I enjoy playing golf,'' he said. ``And to me, going out and playing a course that doesn't reward playing golf is no fun. I'd just as soon stay home. For me to go out and go to a putting contest, I can do that with my kids in the back yard.
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When Nicklaus ended his fireside chat Saturday, the power in Peabody had gone out. So officials escorted him through a dark tent, holding flashlights in front of him. He stopped briefly to give an autograph, and then kept walking. Even in the dark, you could see him smiling like a winner. Nervous men don't smile that way.
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It's been five years since the 61-year-old Nicklaus has been in this position. Spend five years away from the final-day hype generated by the cameras and galleries, and naturally you begin to wonder if you can do it again. Nicklaus joked that he had become accustomed to the sunrise tee times, times reserved for those who are playing for (comparatively) small money and a little pride.
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He ripped manufacturers of juiced golf balls, sighed when someone reminded him Augusta National plans to change its course, and praised all courses _ including this one _ that penalize golfers who simply want to play long ball.
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But he will have to change his routine Sunday. He can even sleep in if he wants. He may be nervous, but he is among the leaders. And they are the ones who should be nervous. It doesn't matter that Nicklaus plays a half-dozen major tournaments a year, and that he is known more for designing courses than dominating them. He will be the sentimental favorite, which will inspire him. He will also be helped by the course, which he describes like a soul mate.
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No, it doesn't make for the prettiest game. Guys have been taking their 1 unders and pars and 1 overs and going back to their hotel rooms satisfied. The first three rounds have made Nicklaus giddy because promoting difficult courses is one of his constant themes.
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The subjects ranged from his nervousness, to the reason he hasn't been in contention for five years (``I just haven't played well''), to the egos of ball manufacturers. When someone talked about the proposed changes at Augusta, Nicklaus covered his face with his hands in mock horror. ``I can't tell them what to do,'' he said. And then he proceeded to tell them what to do. Don't lengthen the course, he said. Tighten it.
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He mentioned the gallery here, how they went ``berserk'' when he made a shot and ``I did, too.'' In 40 years, galleries will do the same thing for the Jack Nicklaus of the 21st century, also known as Tiger Woods. But that's later. Sunday, honestly, all the other names on the leaderboard don't matter. They shouldn't take it personally; most people will come here to see if Nicklaus can win.
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Trimble had vowed to resign unless the Irish Republican Army began getting rid of its hidden arsenal. But the IRA says it won't keep its pledge to put its weapons ``beyond use'' until the British government keeps its own promise to reform the police and scale back the British military presence here.
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Bennett, meanwhile, is preparing to take his wife and children to Galway for their annual vacation in the Irish Republic. Like many people, Bennett purposely schedules vacation for the climax of marching season on July 12.
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``Can you imagine, shooting a man dead in front of his children?'' Boland asked, shaking his head.
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The political vacuum created by Trimble's resignation, and the street confrontations that began last week and escalated Saturday, have set the stage for a violent summer that will test the Northern Ireland peace process.
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But for all the normalcy that has taken hold in Northern Ireland, there are some still itching for a fight, and the legacy of conflict manifests itself every year at this time, when Protestants celebrate 17th-century military victories over Catholics.
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He said he tried to comfort Lynn McConnell, who is pregnant, and her parents.
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The polarization of the two communities _ one Protestant and loyal to Britain, the other Catholic and desiring unity with the Irish Republic _ reaches its zenith every July, the climax of the so-called marching season, when Protestant loyalists celebrate their heritage by holding some 3,000 parades, some of them in Catholic neighborhoods where they are not wanted.
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David Trimble's resignation as the first minister of Northern Ireland's power-sharing government took effect early Sunday, casting this province into a period of uncertainty at the height of the annual confrontations between Protestant loyalists who parade their Britishness and Irish Catholic nationalists who resent it.
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Some people, like John McCormick, who lived in a housing project here in Coleraine, a dreary town in the northwest corner of the province, have neither the means nor the inclination to get out. McCormick minded his own business, local people say. But he was a Catholic, and someone else made that their business.
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Paramilitary groups on both sides continue to mete out vigilante justice by shooting and beating petty criminals, but the death toll is counted in the dozens, not hundreds, since the power-sharing compromise of the Good Friday Agreement was approved by voters in 1998.
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Last week, two men burst into his home as he sat watching television with his Protestant girlfriend, Lynn McConnell, and their sons, Kieran and Dillon. Two other little boys who were visiting looked on as the gunmen riddled McCormick with bullets. Police say the killers were Protestant extremists who took umbrage at a Catholic living with a Protestant in their loyalist enclave.
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In poor neighborhoods, such as the Ardoyne in North Belfast, it takes little to provoke a fight. In the Ardoyne last week, Catholic parents were furious that they were forced to take their children into Holy Cross girls' school by a back door. The front was blocked by Protestants who complained that their nearby homes were being attacked by Catholic thugs. Police separated the groups, and rioting flared almost nightly.
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``This is their big day out. They come down here every summer for a meal, a sing-song and a bit of crack,'' said Sean Bennett, the fifth generation of his family to run the pub, using the slang for fun. But after a day in the country, they went back to the most divided neighborhood in Northern Ireland, where Protestants and Catholics are separated by high walls and narrow minds.
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Earlier, Protestant thugs had thrown stones at students as they tried to enter Holy Cross. Judy Haughey said her daughters, 9-year-old Lucilla and 10-year-old Cora, begged her to let them stay home. But Haughey refused to be intimidated, tugging her terrified daughters toward the school.
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As expected as Trimble's resignation was, violence broke out in West Belfast Saturday when a Protestant parade passed a Catholic area where the two communities are separated by walls called the ``peace line.''
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On Friday night, the American rock group the Eagles brought its reunion tour to the grounds of Stormont, where the Good Friday Agreement was negotiated and where the power-sharing assembly created by it sits. Nearly 20,000 people enjoyed the music and the view of the sweeping grand drive that leads up to the building where Monday politicians will gather to figure out what to do, now that Trimble is gone.
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The economy has never been better. Belfast, once a sullen Victorian backwater that made the news only for the wrong reasons, is more cosmopolitan, with new ethnic restaurants opening weekly and new hotels springing up every few months.
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In the 1970s, between 200 and 500 people a year were being killed in a place the size of Connecticut, with a population of just 1.5 million.
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Lynn McConnell's eyes were raw and as red as the roses she clutched to her chest as she walked behind her lover's casket the other day. Before the casket was closed, she placed one half of a small gold heart inside.
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Witnesses said bottles and stones were hurled from the Protestant side before Catholics retaliated. Police in riot gear stood between the two sides, drawing abuse and missiles from both, and disturbances continued Saturday night.
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McCormick's murder, almost primitive in its barbarity, harked back to so many of the other 3,500 killings in Northern Ireland over the past 30 years. The Rev. Eugene Boland, the McCormick family's pastor, has been a priest for as long as The Troubles, but until last Wednesday he had never presided at the funeral of someone who had been killed as a result of them.
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``They're Protestants, but we're all Christians,'' the priest said. ``I tried to give them some hope in the Resurrection, that we'll see John again some day. Lynn is pretty much inconsolable. But she is carrying John's baby, and that's given her a reason to carry on.''
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Under law, the power-sharing assembly can continue for six weeks without a leader. The British and Irish governments will use that time to try to coax a gesture from the IRA. Trimble's deputy, Reg Empey, the trade minister, will serve as a caretaker first minister, but effectively has no powers.
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Trimble was not even in Northern Ireland when his postdated letter of resignation took effect at midnight. Instead, he is in France attending ceremonies on the 85th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, where thousands of men from what would in 1920 become Northern Ireland died in the trenches fighting for the British Army.
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The torn ligament Dreifort suffered in his pitching elbow Friday still dominated clubhouse talk as the Dodgers continue their injury-ravaged season. Right-hander Andy Ashby is lost for the season, Dreifort's availability is in serious question, Kevin Brown was on the disabled list twice and Gary Sheffield, Eric Karros, Beltre, Paul Lo Duca and Mark Grudzielanek were each on the disabled list.
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Beltre has eight hits in the first three games of this four-game series, which the Dodgers can sweep today. The Dodgers have matched a season-high with five consecutive wins, all on the road. Matt Herges (5-6) pitched one-third of an inning but was the winner.
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Marquis Grissom added an RBI single off Hoffman (2-3), and Beltre scored on the play when center field Mark Kotsay's throw to a vacated third base went into the Dodgers' dugout as the Dodgers went ahead 7-3.
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However, rookie manager Jim Tracy has held the triage unit together.
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But San Diego rallied quickly in the sixth. Mike Darr singled with two outs through the right side of the infield, and Ryan Klesko hit a two-run on a 1-0 fastball to tie it 2-2.
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Dodgers right fielder Shawn Green hit his team-leading 20th homer to lead off the eighth to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. Green didn't hit his 20th homer last season until Aug. 8. He also leads the Dodgers with 62 RBI as he tries to become the first left-handed batter to drive in 100 runs in Los Angeles Dodgers history.
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The Padres tied it 3-3 in the eighth when Park walked pinch hitter Mark Kotsay and Rickey Henderson. Jesse Orosco relieved and walked Mike Darr to load the bases before getting Ryan Klesko to pop out to third. Herges replaced Orosco and got Nevin to hit the high bouncer, but third baseman Beltre tried to bare-hand it and throw, really his only chance for an out, but couldn't handle the ball as Kotsay scored.
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Dodgers starter Chan Ho Park allowed three runs in 7 innings, but he wasn't involved in the decision. However, his outing may be enough to ensure his first All-Star selection when the team is named next week.
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The Dodgers nearly wasted a glorious chance in the top of the ninth, loading the bases with one out against Padres closer Trevor Hoffman. Eric Karros popped out meekly to shortstop D'Angelo Jimenez in foul territory, but Beltre came through with a two-run single to give the Dodgers a 5-3 lead.
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``No question, it's going to crush the team again,'' Dodgers second baseman Grudzielanek said. ``We've been dealing with this all year. (Dreifort) is definitely a key piece of the puzzle. We're going to have to find someone to fill in that slot. We're not just going to fall down and just lay down. We're not going to say, `Oh my god, (Dreifort) is out, Ashby is out.' We're just going to keep going. This team is not going to laydown, I don't care if our whole starting (rotation) goes down.''
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Others took the news of another long-term injury with disappointment.
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Several Dodgers officials believe Park is a lock for his first All-Star selection. He's made 14 consecutive quality starts. Park has allowed more than three runs in a start twice, but not since April 18.
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The only member of the projected rotation in spring training to make every start is Park, and he's excelled.
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Slowly but surely, third baseman Adrian Beltre is showing the form that made him the Los Angeles Dodgers' top offensive threat the second half of last season.
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A night after he had four singles, Beltre's bases-loaded hit to left-center field with two outs in the ninth broke a tie game Saturday. The Dodgers went on to score four runs in the inning and defeat San Diego for a third consecutive night, this time 7-3 in front of 60,830 at Qualcomm Stadium.
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Catcher Chad Kreuter tied a Dodgers record with three doubles. It was last accomplished by Eric Karros on April 9, 1999, against Colorado.
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A kid from the slums, the Buenos Aires barrio called Tapiales, Canas learned the game in the streets.
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He saw a big opening _ but it turned out to be a grave.
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Too bad a band didn't play the funeral march written by his compatriot, Prokofiev. Canas would have danced a tango to it.
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Canas's forehand passers were humming, and Kafelnikov's serve was hanging like those curves batters relish. Thirteen double faults zinged the Russian, including, incredibly, the last three.
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The whoppers have been No. 3 Andre Agassi, deposited by No. 281 Doug Flach in 1995, and No. 5 Richard Krajicek, put under by No. 196 Lorenzo Manta in 1999.
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Conducting the funeral service Saturday, in a suitable drizzle at the close, was a young, inconspicuous Argentine named Guillermo Canas, ranked No. 49, who felt obliged to add to the lugubrious tradition once he was assigned to the graveyard shift.
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The gravedigger, of course, was elated. The only tournament he has won was the US Pro doubles with countryman Martin Garcia two years ago in Boston, the last championship in Beantown before Longwood swooned as a tourney host.
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``Sometimes easy is tough for me,'' he said. ``It's disappointing because I feel that time's fading away. I realistically see that. There are so many young players trying to make a statement.
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Surgery on his left wrist soon followed. A long convalescence gave him time ``to think much, more focus on my tennis. A psychologist help me. And my coach, Pablo Martin. I pay him to say my wrongs. It helps.''
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``On paper, it was there for me and I was not able to take it. That's disappointing,'' he said with a wan smile. ``Knowing I was the favorite in the match, and that I have a great opportunity in the draw on my side, wide open to get to the quarterfinals. That was my minimum goal. But the pressure I put on myself didn't give me a chance to play up to my ability.''
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Although the dimensions of this grassy plot across the main concourse from Centre Court are identical to any other court from Alaska to Zimbabwe, over the years it's been a spooky resting place for hotshots with major championship names such as Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, Michael Stich, Jim Courier, Conchita Martinez, and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.
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``We had very old, worn-out balls,'' he said. ``Used bags for a net, boards for rackets.''
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What he feared was the situation.
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Kafelnikov, the slim, nimble winner of the French in 1996, the Australian in 1999, and the recent Olympic gold medal, surely the all-time tennis czar of the Russians, had been planted there before, as No. 3 by No. 98 Nicolas Kiefer in 1997. Yet he said the legend of the graveyard _ the kladbische, as they say in Russia _ caused him no fear.
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``With every (Wimbledon) I have less chance to win it.''
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Apparently it's not easy that does it for Kafelnikov. Long one of the elite of tennis, owner of two major titles, today he's just another notable _ the world No. 7 _ buried by one of the peons in Wimbledon's ominous cemetery, Court 2.
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Thus, using his racket as a shovel, the quick Canas sparkled like the diamond in his left ear. A survivor after nearly losing the fourth set before paying his last respects to Kafelnikov, he won, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).
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``I couldn't believe it,'' said Canas. ``I was unbelievable happy. I just pray they don't stop us when it rains in the tiebreaker.''
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Serving at 5-3, 30-15, two points from parity, Kafelnikov caved in like the Berlin Wall. One after another, three double faults handed Canas the game. It was an invitation to an entombment.
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Opportunity knocked and it knocked him out, as did Canas. Usually a crusty character, Kafelnikov was surprisingly forthcoming in discussing his demise.
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