the talented yet troublesome Kendall Gill ina 3- way deal with Seattle. They also added experi- enced small forward Eddie Johnson (14.4) and college player Scott Burrell of UConn.

3) Chicago Bulls: The loss of Michael means more pressure on all-NBA Scottie Pippen (18.6, 7.7, 6.3) and 611 g/f Toni Kukoc from Croatia. The Bulls are still talented, but everyone will now see how good they are without Jordan to lead them. The shot at a fourth straight title seems highly unlikely, but the question lingers: for how long Jordan will stay retired? Will he be able to stay away from the competition for good, or will he return to the league in a few years?

4) Indiana Pacers: The Pacers have talent but it’ snot enough. Reggie Miller (21.2) will be one of the top scorers in the league, and former Seattle forward Derrick McKey hopefully will live up to being traded for Detlef Schrempf, but

"Dominque Wilkins may win his second scoring title this year, but how much longer can he keep playing at this level? "

it won’t be enough. The rest of the players are complementary parts, lacking the star ability that these two have. Pooh Richardson runs the offense from the point and 7’4 Rik Smits clogs the middle, but they won’t be any more than a playoff bubble team.

5) Atlanta Hawks: Dominque Wilkins (29.9, 6.8) may win his second scoring title this year, but how much longer canhe keep playing at this level? The Hawks have no center, a streaky 2 guard (Stacey Augmon), an average playmaker in Mookie Blaylock, and questionable depth. Kevin Willis has to play at the same level as last year (17.9, 12.9) if they are to make the playoffs. 6 & 7) Detroit Pistons & Milwaukee Bucks: Both these teams are mysteries because of all the new faces. The Pistons are at least three years away from contending again, as they reloaded by getting Sean Elliot(17.2) from San Antonio for problem child Dennis Rodman, and anew backcourt in rookies Lindsey Hunter and Allan Houston. The Bucks have some good young players; Todd Day(13.8), Eric Murdock (14.4, 7.6 apg) and ex-Clipper Ken Nor- man(15.0), but are still rebuilding.

Next week... the West

SCOTT MACDONALD

Lady Panthers

head for the finals

3 Mens team out of the running

J season for both of UPEI’s soccer teams came to a close this weekend here at U.P.E.I.’s MacAdam Field. The brief season, which began in early September, saw the men’s and women’s soccer teams travel in opposite directions in their respective league’s standings. The men’s team, after winning an early game in September, struggled through the majority of the season, at titnes going several games with-

out a win or even a goal. In contrast, the women’s squad, which only recently came into

ust as quickly as it began, the regular

existence, just finished their most competitive season ever. The Lady Panthers will soon be leaving for Nova Scotia to prepare for this weekend’s conference finals while the men’s team ended their season on Sunday and will miss this year’s playoffs.

On Saturday, the two teams squared off at home, both playing the University of Moncton. The first game of the Saturday afternoon doubleheader saw the men’s squad fall 2-1 to Moncton. The Blue Eagles led 2-0 at the half with Mondher Eudumi scoring both goals. The Panthers fought back in the second half, nar- rowing the deficit to one with a goal by Wade Peardon, but they could come no closer.

The Panthers fared much better in Sunday’s season finale, though, as they rebounded from Saturday’s loss to beatthe Mt. Allison Mounties 2-1 to finish the 1993 season on a winning note.

In Saturday afternoon’s doubleheader finale at 2:00, the women’s team, along with fifty or so fans, braved the cool, overcast conditions to end the regular season against Moncton. The game began slowly, almost as if each team was afraid to make a mistake. The two teams battled back and forth, but neither could capitalize on their chances and the first half ended in a scoreless draw. Inthesécond half, though, the Panthers clearly showed their superiority and buried the visiting team with three unanswered goals by Jody Dixon, Amy Clarke and Dianne Stevenson. The win, combined with Dalhousie’s 1-0 win over St. Fx allowed UPEI to claim third place in the league’s standings.

TODD PETRIE

Referees on strike

Substitute officials sought by NHL

word ‘‘strike’’ is as common as multi-

year contracts and grossly overpaid ath- letes. This year, major league baseball players had threatened to walk out after Labor Day, thus disrupting the playoffs and World Series; and two years ago, in the NHL, players walked out in April, causing a lengthy delay in the playoffs. Now, just when it seemed everyone was happy, another strike is looming in the NHL, not from the players, but from the guys wearing the stripes.

The Union representing the NHL’s referees and linesmen has been trying to negotiate anew contract for its members for a while now, but has recently admitted that the two sides are far apart. In fact, the two sides are even farther apart now than when negotiations began.

While the NHL has been trying to keep news of the deadlock as quiet as possible, they have

I n the world of professional sports, the

a

recently begun gathering a list of referees for an ‘Emergency Referee’s training camp.’’ Their goal is to force-feed these NHL referee hopefuls with the ins and outs of professional refereeing. The NHL is confident that negotiations can be resumed; however, plans are still being made to use substitute referees, if necessary, to allow the season to continue.

For any professional referee hopefuls, the training camp is slated for November 5-7, in Toronto.

TODD PETRIE

Sports!

Sports stories in the X-Press boost game attendance, increase school

SNORE Cm MCE Beco place. Get your team in the X-Press: Ue

November 4, 1993/X-Press/19