The sporting news 03 04 1996

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VOICES 6

D aw Kindred: Charlie Finley was a baseball genius who not only knew how the game should be played, but how it should be presented to custom ers.

7

Letters

BASEBALL 8

Kid gloves: Hot prospects such as Atlanta’s Jason

Schmidt are in every’ Florida and Arizona clubhouse, personifying the freshness and optimism of spring baseball.

12 Bob Nightengale: After Cal Ripken singlehandedly’ saved baseball last fail. the city of Baltimore finds it now m ust share him with the rest of the country.

13 Baseball Notes

FOOTBALL 19 Bob C lash er Team s are wasting little time lining the pockets of the best available players, and the bidding wars are guaranteed to continue.

20 N R Notes 44 Ivan M alsel: T he NCAA puts teeth into rules on cleats and intentional grounding.

BASKETBALL 30 Sham) Powell: The Knicks have their war chest ready for this sum m er’s free-agent frenzy, but the city of New York might not be high on anyone's wish list.

31 NBA Insider 32 A good life regretted: Nera White is the greatest w om en’s basketball player no one has ever heard of.

38 Banding blocks: Texas T ech is the surprise team this season, but th e Red Raiders are trying to figure out how to sustain their success next season in the Big 12.

37 Mike DeCoarcy: College basketball is nearing a crisis state, and actions such as Kerry Kitties' suspension make the situation worse.

40 College B asketball Insider

HOCKEY 45 Larry Wlgge: F^erre Turgeon has proved his mettle as Canadiens captain.

46 NHI Insider

DEPARTMENTS 4 Openers 42 The Sports M arketplace 47 The Closer. Form er major leaguer Larry Doby recalls the players of the Negro leagues.

Cover photo o f Kevin Garnett by Dale Tait/NEA Photos.

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Kevin sent When I first talked to Frank Clancyseveral m onths ago. his interest in Kevin G arnett was apparent. We discussed the possibilities of his writing about G arnett and projected a story could be completed by December.

Little did we know the piece would not come to fruition until the week of the NBA trading deadline. Nor could we imagine what an important day that would becom e to young G arnett The w ait and the work. has been worth i t and you get rare insight into two new people when you read the story on Page 26. As Clancy unveils the secrecy around his su b ject he divulges vital details about him self as well, the m ark of a truly’ accomplished writer.

protesters, heart disease and the gestalt of pickup basketball. He won national awards for his coverage of health care for blacks in '• • a Watts and Mississippi. He also is at work on a book about fathers and sons.

W? £ It is appropriate the Garnett story runs this week.

The TimberwoKes were faced" with an escalating animosity between Garnett and veteran Christian Laettner. Convinced the rift would never heal, they decided last week-to dump Laettner and got little for him in return, h sent a resounding message about the future of McHale’s franchise and the p^yer he will stake its success on. ♦

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T o s u b s c rib e to T H E S P O R T IN G N E W S or m ake a c h a n g e o f a d d re s s lf you are an e x istin g s u b s c rib e r, see Pag e 1 4 .

P u iX s h o d by

A Tim es M irror M Company

FROM H IK EDITOR

"I don't know that Iv e ever had to be so patient in order to interview a p erso n I was writing ab o u t" Clancy says of G a r n e t t . “W h e n th e Timberwolves in tr o du ce d G a r ­ net t. I t h o u g h t th e m ed ia treated him like he was 13. in a s s um in g that he could not i L l . possibly take care of him se IL Clancy I like Kevin M c H a le ’s re s ­ pons e. which was basically, h e ' s an adult and can do w h a t he wants.

Obviously McHale rem em bered what it was like to be 19."

Clancy worked since training camp to get the story’. Clancy was as relentless, albeit politely, as Garnett was reclusive. "I’m struck by the degree to which he shuts off the outside world as a way of coping with the attention." Clancy says.

Clancy. 39 this week. has written about a variety of subjects: anti-nuclear

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4 • OPENERS

The Sporting News

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CAI (ii O' ().\ THE MV i ,

A Series switch, site unseen Tradin' deadline s passed, and Fhstill starts for this here team.

■ OK. seamhead purists, put this in .yer no-commish. over-expanded. World Series-cancellin’. strike-zone tinkerin'.

I half-0.H.’d pipe-n-smoke it The Spies say baseB^’s penciknecked owners've I been informally approached by a sports consultinjf firm about the possibilit>- of a rotating neutraJ-site World Series.

(Read: Subpar Bowl times best-o-seven.)

The National Pasl-Its-Time calls it innovation, but the bottom line on expansion, inteiieague play. franchise relocation, stadium blackmail and spring-training site extortion is the bottom line. And cities'd be failin' all over their wallets lo host the Super Series. And >a think the players and owmers d let a little thing like home'field advantage/tradition stand in the Hay-o-spliltin’ another SISO mil’ ■ Dial surfin' in Big D. the Spies caught Ma\*wTecks Coach Dick Motta's radio show right when Mark Agalrre. on the horn with listeners, was launchin' a bouquet the old man’s wa>: “You don’t know what a great coach this guy is."

Course, neither did .Aguirre when he played for him.

■ Speaking of Mona. Fly hears be s Mottafication: Absence can indeed make the heart grow fonder. still rrrm- unhappy about the Three Js in­ fectin' the Wrecks with a fourth: jealous)’. “Do I like it? I hate the trouble of findin' a way to dump him after this here season. And lookie. lookie, Dookies. who might listen to an it.' he says. Owner Don Carter tells the Spies he doesn't offer Coach K? foresee a break"up. Course, his ■ Hey-yo. never mind Unry WaOcer's shift to center (he foresight hasn't exacth’ been says he!) give it three weeks max; G.M. Bob Gehhard says 20-20 with this here team. that ain't enough time), the controversy in the Rox camp was ■ Fh ’s Top 5 or “Caught Daists's 'do. When he hit the field three hours late for first in the '89 draft, wiiich of the workout he was coiffed on the cuttin' edge (bangin’ down NFL's top 5'd give va chiUs?': near his shoulders and p ^ team rules). Speaking of cuttin'.

I Troy Aikmao; 2.

Skip... “I might have lo give it to him. but he’s gohna get Sanders; 3. Derrick Thomas: one." Don Bf^or said.

4 Defoa Sanders; 5. Tony ■ Fly's puttin’ 2-n-2 together and gettin’ dmck Rcmi in the Mandartch ■ Fresh from the Rumorama Seahawks* front office in Seattle. The Spies say Keo Befariog's sniffin' 'round for a buyer, and Knox has been talkin' with the (where thev sell no 'vine people tryin' to keep the Hawks in Washington. before it s time); loo the *Do ■ Yo. Worriers 4ns. ya think Hardaway's exit signals a saved Olin-I Cit sure ain't niin-\S’E)

new era of a remission by the Bay? Not untfl a postseason operation to remove RoflySBftafy.

■The Cubs’ rotation (Kanrra, Castflto, Rstar, M liife r and Tracksal and pray for a lefthander) is all-right, all right That’s why JIB V ri^efBBi is wide open to bein’ wowed by southpaws BD! Kfi ep r and Brlai Barm or a deal (for one of those 35 left fielders in camp). How else ya gonna stack up against say. the Bravos?

■ Make that Raiders motto: Pride and 'Boys.

■ HIcb Dnrieary's made it clear Via Baker's The Franchise in Milwaukee (insert: That’s why he makes the big Bucks" joke here), and that’s why Blan RiddBSoa’s ^nna be in L A come NEA draft time. Lakes Veep Jerry Vest who lobbied hard for Robinson to make the Olympic team. is a big Big Dog fan.

■ TexTech's tttsdose to turnin’ out the lights OD SWC basketbafl with an unbeaten campaign, but that’s kinda like goin' 14-niil for the champeenship at the Downtown Y. RPI-breath.

(Kentucky runnin' the table in the SEC? Now thats an accomplishmenL) ■ OK. Gtnts which is it’ Ty Wheatley in February: “If the Giants think the)' can win with Bodeey Hanptoa coming back. Pm all for it I want a Super Bowl ring. They can go out and sign Joe Horrii if itll help." Or Ty Wheatley in December “TD be damned if I sit down next year, PO teU you that" ■ The SparttBBlster was countin' on one hand for Fly the number of everyday players the Tigers system produced in his 17 years in Deetroit (Bibby. HoJo, Fryiaa and Blena WilsoB) and stiD had a thumb left over to gouge in the organization’s eye: Tliank God two of our guys (Tram and Whitaker) hung around for 19 years, or I don't know what we’d have done. Poor Gibby. We had to bring him back and bring him out of retirement I told my coaches last year that we Jiould round up all our (developmental) people and send them to a seminar in Montreal to see how its done."

■ Finally. Fly’s gotta go: someone’s callin’ long distance from Tiova.

Pollack, the longtime 76ers publicist and funky-stat guru, tracks these things and says Harris “was more explosive when he was coaching earlier in his career. He’s really calmed down." Here is Pollack’s top IO list of career ejections from 1971-96 (excludes 7S79 season): Rb c jI_____________ EjBcfloni

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P ip p e h 7 0 ia ite '& ii^ :.^ Stockton and Isiah Thomas.,

We all know what happens lo nice guys ip sgorts. and Lakers CoacnDePHapis must be thinking the same thing. That would explain what he said lo reporters after being ejected in the last quarter of a victor)' over the Clippers last week: “For those of you who may be shocked at old Del getting thrown out of the game, your kind and gentle coach is eighth in the history of the league — and ninth is Charles Barkley. Check it oui" We did. And although Harris has his own ranking right, he may be “shocked" lo learn thai Barkley passed him a while ago. Harvey

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Openers compilert by Tom Dfentisrt Steve Marantz. Leslie Gibson McCarthy. Carl Moritz Marie Newman and Marie Shimabuieuro.

OPENERS•5

March 4,1996

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6 • VOICES

The Sporting News

A maverick, a visionary pm nw tf a cep

Which is, of course, baseball's congenital problem The lords of the game want nothing to do with anyone who has a new idea. To be rid of Finiey's vulgarity, baseball would have sacrificed his genius — and genius there •w.:. >. was. for here was the rare •». .fC* baseball owner who not onh* Dave .

Iff* ^ t iR ftp * . ^ knew how the game should be KINDRED played, he knew how it should * be presented to the customers Connie Mack proposed the ti The o w n e r’s u*am was designated hitter at the turn of baseball > Dt-st H is m ighty the century. A brilliant idea. it Ts s A th le tics won three W orld went unnoticed for 60 years Series championships before 'fv? and more. Then Charlie Finley he nad to take desperate began beating the drum for the m easures.

Because ot' DH (accompanied by. of all baseball’*; changing financial people. Bowie Kuhn). Finley structures, he would dismantle knew that customers his team. He even was eager to appreciated fine pitching and do it Decause he had good fielding, but they loved confidence in his a b ility to hitting. So give them more of create another great team from it Simple. young p lacers So without W hv were World Series regret he would dump the stars games played in daylight? who had played brilliantly tor Only a few people could see w ars them then, even on television i es. we re talking about tinBetter to play al night. Charlie late lamented Charlie Finley Finley s idea. He w-anted the h e n . B u 1 not only about All-Star Game at night as well.

Charlie ti W e re also talking And now these ideas, long about h i' predecessor in A's resisted by baseball and onh history, the singular Cornelius 30 vears ago considered M c( iii lieu cid). whose name was heretical, seem so logical we shortened to L onnie Mack to tit wonder what took so long in box scores For even as “Eggshell white" and “prison Finiev wanted to dismantle tht gray" were Finley's pejorative mighty Oakiand A ’s of the eariv descriptions of baseball's IMTMs. Mack had taken apart uniforms when he put his the mignrv Philadelphia A's O’ .Athletics into green and gold MA with white shoes. Soon The circum stances and tnt enough, uniform colors moved men s m ethod' art- much tht rrom heresy to commonplace Golden dynasty: Before selling the A ttn 1980. Finley (with Jackson, left. saint Ye; Paschal! h isto ry’* Listen to one of Finley s and Dick Greer.) had three uwria champs. judgments of Finley and Mack great players. Reggie Jackson: an* at odds connu- Mack ha> Peen canonized. Charlie Finley pas “ Players with mustaches and beards? Charlie was the first to say it been all bul drawn and quartered was just fine. He was the first man to groom minor league pitching To the question asked not long ago by ESPN 's Keith Olbermann. prospects as relievers; he did that with Roilie Fingers. He was the “Should Charlie Finley be in the Hall of Fame?" the answer is. yes. first man to see speed as a consistent force in the arsenal of a major As to the chance*' of Finley actually being elected, the answer is league team Charlie even wanted to use colored baseballs — I ve slim still got a box of orange balls at my home in Oakland — and I think W hile Connu- Mack operated un the cheap at the expense of he's right about that. too. Thev'd be a lot easier to pick up. like player' he considered disposable tools, he did it in partnership with colored tennis balls.... He w-as alway* a step or two ahead of h i' basepall brethren and did it with the pious hearing of a patrician everybody else “ preacher Chark*' ( )scar Finley operated on the cheap, exploiting his A step5 How about 20 years? Finley knew a generation ago that player' and demeaning them as Mack had. but Finley operated baseball needed to play its games faster; he advocated three balls. without the cover o) hypocrisy, he was a profane maverick seldom two strikes. When free agency' frightened baseball, only Finley knew prouder than when he infuriated everyone who could hear his what to d c "M ake em all tree agents even- year." That way. with thunrieroii' denunciations, the nibs! famous being his “apolog) " ti' players glutting the market, salaries would go down as players ail village idiot*- tor having compared them to then baseball competed for jobs, instead of teams competing for a few players. commissioner Bowu Kuhn "He is the nation * idiot."

Naturally, the lords of baseball ignored Finley's raucous voice, anc J lu- s(K>rtswntrr Red Nmith dismissed Finley with one- phrase: we now endure the consequences of ignoring wisdom.

“Brassy vulgarity " Kuhn himself, in a torrent of creative writing, The author John Helyar. in nib basebalKousiness book "Lords ot railer! Fin icy “ abusive, disrespectful and coarse." “preposterous." ‘ an the Realm." called Finley a bom salesman: “.As a boy in Birmingham. embarrassment to baseball." “a gadfly “ “a dragonfly” and a “despot" .Alabama, he bought discolored, rejected eggs for five cents a dozen w ho* franchise had “a Three Stooges look" — all this in two and sold them in downtown office buddings for 15 cents a dozen. He paragraphs of Kuhn s autobiography iater won a medal and a bicycle for selling 12.500 subscriptions to the Maybe >o Maybe it <vulgar to bring in the team '' mascot, a muie Saturday Evening Post" named Charlie () and allow the animal to graze at the same buffet In time Finley built an insurance empire that made it possible tor table with folk* at a World Series partv Maybe univ a despot would tht' onetime Birmingham Barons batboy to buy the Fvansas Cit) treat h i' player' as disposable parts the inert to fire one during a Athletics. He did the deal in I960 at 42. .And everything that \\ oriel n t h * '. only to be told bv Kuhn he couldn't do it) Maybe only happened from then on had been suggested bv the caption under an owner with n Th nu- Stooges mentality would threaten to move h i' Charles ( )scar Finley''s photograph in his high school yearbook. It team to Am' /own That Would Budd a Stadium reads; "He who mischief hatcheth. mischief catcheth " ♦ For the*- cnmes and more of their kind. Bowie Kuhn wanted to Dave K in dred is a contributing w rite r fo r TNK SKIRTING Nfw>. run Charlie F'inlev out of baseball

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VOICK • 7

March 4 1996

VOICE OFTHE EAN Running wild

‘Can Kentucky win when it counts?’ p * ..ne*.. temML—*******

Baltimore bott I offer my deepest gratitude to Ken Rosenthal for finally presenting to the naUon Baltimore's side of the story (TSN February '9) M r Rosenthai put the blame n re i'i^ h ' where it truly belongs: in the nand* ot c o m m issio n e r Paul Tagliabue and the N F L As ary . we attem pted to gain an NKI team lairly and squarely W e played the expansion gam e" only to have our hearts nm ken on two different occasions. A> M r Rosenthal stated. would not the league have solved a lor ot its curren t problem s had it piacrd expansion franchises w here they jusufiabh belonged — in St. Louis and B altim ore' P erhaps the most intriguing, perplexing query we m Baltimore still face is. w here were all of the "bleeding hearts" nationwide when we iost oui beloved Colts after the 1983 season? W here was the outcry' of injustice when Robert Irsav took our team in the dead of night? W ho w as there to drv o ur tears?

Call the football fans ot Baltim ore what you wish — scavengers, w hatever Most im portant, however, like it or not. cai! us the new est m e m b e rs of the National Football le a g u e .

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Steve H arriso n 's statem en t in “Happy to g e th e r — and winning" (TSN. F ebruary 19) that K entucky is the finest team in the nation is inaccurate. Indiana, which has stru ggled all year, stayed close to Kentucky b ec au se th e H oosiers slowed th e p ace down, and U M ass beat th e W ildcats soundly. They can get rattled if they d o n ’t shoot w e ll and th eir defensive fu ndam entals appear w eak at tim es. However, they can m ak e the Final F o u r a s long a s te am s try to run with them and lei th em play their gam e.

C hristopher Cheswick C atonsville. Md. [h a n k s to Paul T agiiabue's awfu) reign as com m issioner, the NFL is going down fast.

With te am s having no resp ect for th e cities that spaw ned them , fans will soon “Major League Baseball" them . .And sh am e on Ken Rosenthal! Two w rong s do not m ake a right!

Bill Du Bois San Antonio, Tex.

David Kays Indianapolis

Unloa(fcigthe/ftt Bob N ig hten gale s u g g e s ts th e A’s offseason m oves ‘‘will m ak e th e B rew ers look like a p o w erh ouse" (TSN. F eb ru ary 19).

W hat would you have d o n e in Sandy A lderso n’s place. Mr. N ightengale? T hrow s o m e ca sh at a few second-rate free a g e n ts ' T h e A’s are obviously in a rebuilding stage.

T im e will tell if A lderson's m o v es will pay off. d ep e n d in g on th e developm ent of th e young players he h a s acquired. But to ridicule the team for m aking th e s e m oves s u g g e sts it would have been b e tte r served to keep to g e th e r an aging, overpaid nucleu s of players that h a s n ’t b e e n able to top .SOO tor th re e seaso n s. Som e of us are proud to suck with o u r te am s th ro u g h ro u g h tim es. T h ere are w orse fates than e n d u rin g a season w atching a prom ising y oung team develop into w inners. I re m e m b e r it h ap p e n in g a few years back in Atlanta. So before you give a team a “W hv Will .Anybody W ant To W atch Us Award." vou m ight want to think twice 0

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Dave Kindred. Bob G lauber. Steve Bisheff.

Flv. Ken Rosenthal and fans all have taken sh o ts at Art M Odell and th e “greedy" ow ners of professional sp o rts franchises. But ow ners have been m ade th e scapeg oats for simply being like th e rest of our society — co n cern ed with the bottom line. No one cries and rails against professional athletes who ch a n g e te am s every few years to get a b etter deal, m o re m oney, m o re playing time or b e c a u se they have worn out th eir welcome.

T h e o w n ers have now just figured out what professional athletes have know n for th e past 20 y e a rs — free agency is a boon.

If cities are co n cern ed about losing team s, they should p u rch ase, own and run a team.

T ak e th e risks, and then you can have the stability you crave. Until then, let'* stop with th e self-righteous b ash in g of ow ners and face up to th e m o n ste r that we. the fans, have created . If you have grow n w e a n ' ot protessionai sports, go to your local ballpark and supp ort kids who play b ec au se they love the gam e.

Ticd Goslen K am uela. H aw aii

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Easy streak In p re sen tin g the short list tor NBA I oach of th e Year candidates. Shaun Powell posed the question (TSN. February 19). “lf the Bulls reach 70 victories, how can Phil Jackson not win?" T h e answ er is sim ple Not to dim inish the coaching ability ot Jackson, but the achievem ents ut co achee such as D oug Collins and Mike Fratello. who have been dealt team s with less talent than the Bulls, far outw eigh th e won-lost reco rd that Jackson h a s been able to “lead" the Bulls to.

After ail. Phil Jack so n * job descnp tion this season is: Sit back, relax and enjoy the total experience

Travis Heidorr M idland. M ick

103402. l527@ com puserve.com

Jeffrey S e e ly A u stin . Tex tfneeiyrtm ail. u texas, edu

K udos to C h u ck Daly for h is article on the Cleveland Cavaliers (TSN. F eb ru ary 19) M ike Fratello h a s done a great job given his re so u rc e s and h a s again show n why h e is am ong th e best co a ch es in the gam e. Sure. i t s g re at to h e a r about Shaq. Magic and MJ. but let's face it, what d o n ’t we know about those guys? T h a n k s for a refresh in g article about th e fortu nes of a young, exciting franchise on th e upswing.

Home and away: It Bait; mrire nae hem awarded an expansion franchise Vinnv lesta verde. who inured Memorial Stadium recently. j5 might still ne in Cleveland

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Unjust reward I always th ou ght that when a head coach wins. it would bring re w ard s tor him. but obviously' that is not th e case tor Ted M archibroda (TSN. F ebruary 26) How could Bill Tobin d u m p him after what he accom plished for the Colts? .After just m issing the S uper Bowl. it was obvious the Colts had a g re at head coach and a solid g ro u p of w inners. T he players loved him and played th eir h e a rts out for him. Som ebody n e e d s to tell Bill Tobin that M arch ib ro d a was the b e st thing for the Colts organization I hope he is treated with th e respect that he well d e se rv e s with Baltimore

Jeff B ru c k e t Is lin g to n . Ill

Rainy days j have been a tan of the S eah aw k s since their creation and have followed this team th ro u g h the ups and the dow ns Just w hen i th o u g h t it couldn't get any w orse. Ken B ehrin g announce* his proposed move and that he would leave the nam e, colors and lo g o ’behind. Hie .v a h a w k s have a great history in Seattle At one time they had the loudest stadium in the N F L I feel saddened at the thought of all the people who might lose their jobs and all th e children w ho might never know what it'* like to go to the K ingdom e and watch the S eahaw k s play the Raiders. The Hawks should stay in Seattle w here they belong

D a vid M cF arland Corcoran. Calif.

m

v* - • lain Carey • • London sgjd450@sghms.ac.uk

Prove it .As an Ohio State tan. I am excited about this year'* recruitin g class and the national ex p o su re (TSN. F ebruary 19) It take* som e of the *ting out ot the disappointing en d lo

what should have been a d ream season However, what does it really m ean to nave the nation s No I class in F e b ru a ry ' hddie G eorge was not highly recruited, ami f e m (d e n n was a walk-on W hen t h i ' year * recruits beat M ichigan, go to the Rom * Bowl and win a national cham pionship, then thev will t m h be Mewed as a No I cia*'' B ryant Bay C ra fto n . (J

X-factw I hold no g ru d g e against M ichael Jordan or Magic jo h n s o n for th eir return to basketball. Having grown uo w atching th ese two play. I am ecstatic to *ec both back my gripe is not with M ichael W ilb o n * praise <>t the MJs. but with hi* dism issal or today s players (TSN. F ebruary 12) It i* o n e thing to criticize a single player, w hoever that m ight be Wilbon gives the sam e tired •arg u m e n t that most Generation-X co m m entator* pigeonhole my generation into We are lazy W e are apathetic W e care about nothing but ourselv es and our check b o o k s, lf today s player* are in tact self-centered and out tor only th e b u c k ', th e n who is really to b la m e ’7 1* it the ethic ot the youth, or their teacher* who are at fault*' If Phil Knight and the Nike m achine had been shelling out multi-million dollar (leal* to 18-year-olds in the T IK would we have see n Magic-Bird or o th er great duel* in the NU.AA final*' N m iehow . I think not S a m H u tch eso n A tla n ta <amti f i m i n d s p n n g co m 0

Behind the wheels Bravo, for your article on the Daytona Dale K.amhardf* Moby Dick i'I ^ N Februar* Jhi iL e re .ire a lot of U" baseball and football fa n ' out here who love the car rue***.. too. especially in the otfseason of 'lit- to n n e r'

I ) a n d Cheese m an Austin. Tex s tin k \s fn e n d 'r m sn rum

Got a Moment?

The

N j-u s

would love to hear from you Write Voice o f the Fan. 1212 S Dndbergh Blvd..

St. I m u is. Mo. S3132. fax your message to us at 314-993-7723. err send us electronic m ail at tsnmaiictanl.com. Be sure to include your nam* and city until your e-mail.

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8 • BASEBALL

The Sporting News

camp counselors, but these hot prospects are expected to fill some key roles B v STHVK MARANTZ ason Schm idt is having an e x ce l­ lent adventure. He is sitting in a W est Palm B e a c h clu b h o u se. wearing a Braves jersey, lacing on baseball sh o es, pounding a mitt To his right are Steve Avery anc Jo h n Smoltz. A cross the room. (acing him. are G reg Maddux and T om Glavine. Baseball's best rota­ tion - awesome! He can ask for a^ many autographs as he wants. He can even talk to them w henever he wants. But it gets better Ja so n Schm idt may tag along into baseball history. If this spring proves bright and true. if he plays Robin to the four B atm en, he Hill b eco m e fifth starter in the dominant rotation of the 1990s At least 20 tim es this season, it all g o es right. Schmidt Hill amble to a mound, kick dirt and fondle resin ju st like the grownups. C atch er Javier Lopez will wiggle a finger, and Schm idt will throw- for all h e ’s worth. T h e ball might even go over the plate Now t h a t s an excellent adventure.

I d escrib e Schm idt's career-quest playful­ ly not because it is anything less than serious, but b e c a u se Schm id t d oes so him self. He co m b in es the wide-eyed dipsy ch arm of the MTX g en era tio n • he js 23 — with a dis­ arming grin and an unguarded wonderment Hot prosp»t*ts are in every Florida and .Ari zona ciubhot»s<. personifying the fresh n ess and optimism of sprm g baseball. For exam ­ ple. rig h th an d er^ Paul W ilson of the M els and I Jvan Hernandez of the M arlins are two rookie p itcher* who could m ake a difference in the National le a g u e Fast. T h e Royals have th ree outfielders jo hnn y Dam on. M ichael T u ck e r and Ion Nunnally. on the verge Two shortstops. Alev Rodriguez of the M a n n e rs and D erek leter ot the Y an kees, c a r n huge expectations Yet promise iv also a burden. T h e g am e is mined with pittalls. a young athlete might nib­ ble hiv fingernails to the nub Som ehow , ischmidi c a m e s it ort like Pauly S h o re m ug­ ging through nm- nj his goofy*, slapstick movies .Spring camp, firs! morning. Schm idt is ren u m b e r in g his m ajor league debut on O p en­ ing Day 199.-> At Dodger Stadium. M anager Bobby t ox summoned him from the bullpen !

T h e phone n n gs." recalls Schm idt. T h e y want m e unbelievable. I c a n ’t hardly get out there Mv legs are wobbling. I think i ’m going to pasv out. honest to God. I call time­ out and grab the resin bag And I look up at that big Diamond \ ision and the ca m era is right on m e I think. X razy First barter walks on four pitches "H igh High. High. High." he says.

Next b a d e r singles. Cold sweat beads on Schm id t s forehead "I can t throw straight. I can't feel mv arms or leg s i n o n ’* know* w h ere it is com ing (rom " h» sd\' "Nothing I gel out ol the in

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Laying down the lair AU Wilson wants out o f his rookie year is 'IO or l l wins. ’ and a new changeup

stupid help him get there Here s some more advice: Square around when you sacrifice. mug with one run. I say to myself. ‘Man. I cannot compete at this level There s too many people.’ " Not a problem. Schmidt spent most of last summer at T rip le A Richmond (Internation­ al). steadying his nerves, finishing with a 2.25 ERA. 95 strikeouts and 4$ walks in 116 innings. The Braves recalled him in Septem­ ber and gave him two starts and five relief ap­ pearances. He won his first start, shutting out the Cubs over eight innings on six hits, wedg­ ing his foot in tile rotation door, despite sea­ son totals of 18 w*alks in 25 innings and a 5.76 ERA. On a world-championship club with a set lineup, the job of fifth starter came open when veteran Kent M ercker was traded to the Or? ole* a* an economizing movt- The imnpeti

don for M ercker’s job passes for drama in the Braves camp. Cox says Schmidt is first in line: “He doesn’t scare — he got out some good hitters last year. AI) he has to do is let his natural stuff happen."

But nothing is guaranteed. Close behind are two lefthanders. Brad Woodall and Ter­ rell Wade. Schmidt and Wade are power pitchers; Woodall is described by pitching coach Leo Mazzone as a "touch" pitcher.

Woodall’s fine control poses a notable con­ trast to Schmidt and could prove alluring should Schmidt falter. Woodall i s 'Tommy Glavine to Schm idt’s John Smoltz. Except that Woodall lacks Glavine’s command, and Schmidt lacks Smoltz’s curve.

The opportunity to join the Braves’ rotation is no small plum It i* a chance to learn at the

Tfirories or m asters”anTperfiaps caTapuITST ward stardom and wealth. It is a chance to bt somebody, to be elevated by association M ercker illustrates the point Although he was just 7-8 with 4.15 ERA last season, the Orioles signed him to a $2.825-million con­ tract with a $3.3-miliion option for 1997 A No. 5 pitcher trom another team, with the samestatistics, might be making half as much Nobody underestimates what is at stake - fame, fortune, personal fulfillment An acade­ mic question — is it harder to break into a great starting rotation, or a weak one? mat­ ters only ii Schmidt struggles. Wool*: Schmidt have an easier time, for example breaking in with the Tigers? A bad outing to.* a Detroit starter is commonplace, but tor Braves starter it is a desecration of art. Artbad outings tolerated more by developing teams or by contenders? What is an ideal sit­ uation in which a young pitcher can develop?

Schmidt is of two minds. Pitching for a bad team, he says, "you can go out and have a bad outing and still fit in. Here, you think. ‘Golly.

I ve got to be Rookie of the Year or win the Cy Young to fit in.’ " On the other hand, he concedes " its nice to be able to go to the best guys in baseball for help. I did that last yrear. They all told me.

‘Don't worry about it — pitch your game.

Don’t pitch somebody e ls e s g am e.'"

G laddie. Maddux. Smoltz and Avery say breading into an established rotation brings £Xtra pressures. Glavine recalls enduring his own 7-17 first full season on a losing club, suggesting he benefited from an organiza­ tional patience that might not exist today.

“If I’m on a staff doing what ours is doing, where it s about winning and not developing; I probably would have gotten sent down."

Glavine says. “W hether that would have translated into me being where I am now. who knows’ I t s a little different for these guys. I t s more about ‘Hey, we gotta win.’ So th ere’s a little more pressure to perform b e cause if they don’t they're going to start look­ ing to bring in somebody who wilL T h e diffi­ cult)' for us was developing on teams that weren't very good knowing you weren’t go­ ing to win a lot of gam es and to not let that bother you mentally."

The fifth starter. Glavine says, will say to himself. “Look at what this staff has done rn the iast five years. I don't want to mess it up."

Mazzone. the pitching coach, takes a dif­ ferent view “W hoever wins the fifth slot knows he doesn't have to c a m ' the whole load. He can gradually ease on in to helping the team win the pennant and keep a high standard I think it’s a good situation for someone breaking rn." i Recent history, in ta c t supports Mazzone Avery struggled mysteriously throughout last season, putting up his worst numbers ever CT­ IB. 4.67). But the Braves, with a comfortable lead, could stay with him. In the final weeks.

Avery regained form and won in the N .I. Championship Series and World Series. How­ ever. postseason su ccess barely redeemed the season for him. ’ “Last year was hard on me and I’ve been around for six years." Avery says. “I felt I wasn *t performing up to the level of my peers.

Sam e thing could happen to the new fifth starter" Struggle is inevitable, suggests Lopez, a third-year catcher. Schmid tw ill'b e tr a p ped between the rotation’s impossibly high stan­ dards and his own eagerness to excel The important issue is how Schmidt works through his struggle “I went through it my first year." Lopez savs "I struggled real bad .and I didn’t hav* am* people to lf-an on His case is different

BASEBALLS

March 4,1996

Booster dntn The Braves probably have enough

pitching to repeat no matter how Schmidt deft) fits in. but for Seattle to make another run it must have instant help from Rodriguez

WILSON: Be realistic

i

T h e staff of the future may belong ta the M ets. Last sum m er, two p rosp ects. Ja so n isringhausen 3nd Bill Pulsipher, im pressively crack ed the rotation. T h is spring. Paul Wil­ son is e x p ected to join th em , form ing a tri­ umvirate of em bryonic stars. C om parisons to previous g en eration s of M e ts are inevitable.

A mid-to-late 1960s grou p included Tom Seaver. Jerry K oosm an. Nolan Ryan and Jon M atiack. In the m id-1980s. Dwight Gooden.

Ron D arling and Sid Fernandez revived the tradition. W ilson, given a $ 1.5-million signing bonu s after being ch o sen at the top o f the 1994 draft out of Florida State, often is likened to Seaver.

WTien cam p opens at Port St. Lucie. Wil­ so n ’s first throw ing sessio n is a m atter of cu ­ riosity. o b serv ed by a few dozen fans. re­ porters and M ets officials. I watch W ilson, at 6 -5 .2 3 5 pounds, throw ing alongside four oth­ er p itch ers, and am im p ressed with h is ve­ locity. M ore R oger C le m e n s than S e a v er. I think. L'nfortunately for W ilson, velocity is not what his c o a c h e s want on the finn day; they rein.him in.

Later, he explains he was spiked on adren­ alin. “I couldn’t help it — I was pum ped." says W ilson. 22. He is seated in front of his cubi­ c le . appropriately located next to (snngh au sen ’s and P u lsip her's. His availability to reporters was delayed by treatm ent on a knee condition, a “sliding" right k n ee ca p W ilson recently learned will be ch ron ic. T h e condi­ tion will ach e under the stre ss of pushing off a rubber.

“So you’re flawed.’ " a rep orter asks.

Simply. W ilson says. “Y e s."

T h e resp onse. I think, reveals W ilson to be a young man rooted in reality. A less-secu re ath lete would have equ ivocated . W ilson is quick to m inim ize the co n d itio n 's potential draw backs. He exp lain s patiently that e x e r cise and therapy can adequately com pensate He points out that two m inor league seaso n s have m atured him as a p itch er, particularly his first year at St. Lucie (C lass A ), w here he went 0 -5 .5 .0 6 . T h e exp erien ce was hum bling “it did a lot of good for m e." W ilson says. “I can se e that now. but not at the tim e." l a s t seaso n . W ilson pitched stron g ly at

1 8 ‘ BASEBALL

The Sporting News

Double-A Bingham ton (6-3.

2 IT in the E a stern L ea g u e) and Triple-A Norfolk (5-3.2.85.

International). Chiefly resp on­ sible for h is im provem ent was a new pitch, a ch an g eu p . learned from Isrin g h au sen .

T h e pitch perm itted W ilson 's evolution from th row er to p itch er. C on fid en ce resto red .

W ilson says his approach is as b asic as p itching can b e: He trie s to u se his stren g th s against b atters' w eakn esses.

“W hat are your g o als5" he is asked T e n or 11 wins. I'd be hap­ py." W ilson says. “Next year m aybe 15. I’m realistic."

tem b er call-up. Now h e ’s com peting for one open spot on the Marlins staff.

"D o you still con sid er yourself a p rosp ect5" I ask. “lf a prospect is som eone who hasn't arrived y e t yes, I. still see m yself as a p ro sp e ct" Powell says.

F o r every prospect trying to break into a lineup, there is another prospect hoping to win the sam e job. o r a veter­ an trying to hold on. Johnny Damon gave the Royals two exciting m onths last sum m er — unfortunately just enough to exh au st his rookie-of-they ear eligibility — but his bid for a center-field job may be contested by Tom Goodwin. an improving player who saw his first fuD major league sea­ son in 1995 after four y ears of ups and downs. Indeed.

Jo n Nunnally and M ichael T u ck e r may battle Damon and Goodwin for playing tim e. V eteran infielder Bip R ob erts could further co n ­ fuse the m ix, playing left if David Howard and Jo s e Of£ ferman win infield jobs.

M anager Bob B oone has th e h ead ach e of sortin g it o u t “W hen you are develop­ ing young kids, you are con­ cern ed about p rotectin g them ," B oone says. “M y m o­ tivation is to protect them so they don’t go into that big slump."

Damon batted leadoff all of his minor league career, but he may be forced into the pressurepacked third slo t T h a t's a big responsibility," Boone says. “H e’s batted leadoff his whole life, and rd like to keep him comfortable. But lead­ off — Bip (Roberts) is a key guy for th a t John­ ny showed me glim pses last year of what he can be."

The Royals think he can be a G eorge Bretttype impact player. So far. those two have at least one thing in com m on. ATV' com m ercial featuring B rett and Damon is the centerpiece of an intensive promotional cam paign aimed at getting back those Royals fans still surly af­ ter the work stoppage.

“I’m happy to take the responsibility." says Dam on. 22. who w as b om in Fort Riley. Ran. “I think the big thing about any gam e is I try to go out and not to worry. My biggest goal is to win. Hopefully, the way I play can in­ spire oth ers."

HERNANDEZ: Table time P ro sp e cts are supposed to A p f * b e "h u n g ry .” but perhaps LiiV van H ernandez. 21. is m issing som eth in g in the translation.

First day. Hernandez show s up at least IO pounds overw eight-.

— at alt estim ated 230 — and can't com plete the last two o f a dozen 220-yard runs.

Spanish-language m edia al­ ready are tw eaking the 6-2.

220-pounder on his app etite.- Run arwtpn: Damon (left) and H ernandez iiave uhat it takes to g iie their teams — a nd the seasonBut in Cuba his salary was 83 a 'ticket sales — a m uch-needed lift. m onth; the M arlins pay him 8 5 0 5 a week for m eals. “H e's like me — he has to watch his weight and not jet it fo rce him out of the g am e." veteran starter Pat Kapp says.

O th er sed u ctio n s await H ernandez. He is g ettin g m arried ;ust before Opening D a y jp .a woman who served as h o ste ss for hrcrclub in the Dominican Republic: they m et last fall. His agent. Jo e Cubas. is urging Hernandez to give the relationship m ore tim e b efo re m arrying H ernand ez should g et a ccu sto m ed to a fishbowl e x iste n ce. B efo re throw ing as m uch as one pitch for the M arlins, he h as becom e the pitcher Cuban-Am erican fans m ost want to see. As an o th er d etecto r from the Cuban National team and recipient of a record 82.5million signing bonus. Hernandez e x cites the p assion s of a fan b ase the M arlin s d esp erate­ ly want to en erg ize T ile M arlins are trying to do the right thing and bring H ernandez along patiently. They don't need him im m ediately b ecau se their ro­ tation is sri with K erin Brow n. .Al lo ite r. Jo h n

Burkett. Rapp and Chris Hammond. But they want his progress to be rapid, nonetheless. He is another Hideo Nomo waiting to happen.

Public expectation is building; temptation is g reat. H ernandez could be used as a setup man until he m atures into a starting role. or. m ore likely, he could start off at Triple A. “Shoot, if he shows he can do it. HI take him now." M anager Rene Lachem ann says.

Still. General M anager Dave Dombrowsld is quick to distinguish Hernandez from Schmidt and Wilson, or Cardinals rookie Alan Benes.

T h o s e guys are being counted on — we’re not counting on H ernandez." D om brow sl^ says.

“But in terms of stuff, h e’s on the sam e level.

In Livan's own mind, he feels he can make the team. G reat But he know's he has to prove he belongs. It wouldn’t surprise me if he com es forward and does that this season.

"A few things you worn- about. Can he handle the mental aspect, tor instance, of see­ ing his fastball get hit when nobody could hit

it before? How is he being broken in? Is he being overexposed and put under too much p ressu re? How will he adjust to his team ­ m ates, fans, a new city5"

DAMON:

The responsibility

Baseball’s winnowing p ro cess is exacting.

P ro sp ects b ecom e su spect and risk falling into a netherworld of ca re e r minor leaguers.

I am rem inded of this by Ja y Powell, a righthander drafted in the first round (19th overall) by the O rioles in 1993. Powell strug­ gled in their system for two su m m ers before they gave up and traded him to the Marlins.

Som e keep trying. Last su m m er. Powell put his gam e togeth er at Doubie-A Portland (E astern ), w here he went 5-4 with 1.87 ERA and w'as im pressive as a setup man in a Sep­ V * t

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steven A reason North K ins, CA Ed WRkowskJ Franklin, WI M iches! Emigh Michigan City. IN Andrew P tosssJ Dubuque, LA M ichael ModzinskJ S t Louts, MO Rob Maugstt Perham , MN Rich Rasm ussen Appleton, WI Jo e McHugh Mission Vie)©, CA Robert Green Baltim ore, MD Dan Powatl W est Hartford, CT

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Ron Webber Robert LaPerche Jonathan Coyne Steven Wyeoff Jerry Slhrerman Vinco Langley Shelton I Wilson Malcolm Baxter Bm Baer Tim Ozga

Hockey Free Agents layers who can be claimed after noon on Fri., March 1st. and before 9PM on Thurs.. March 7th, and he on your team for games beginning Fri.. March 8th.

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12 • BASEBALL

The Sporting News

BASEBALL REPORT

After 2,153 straight games, Cal wants a winning streak sick. You go to work because its your duty.

“I really don’t get into the fact that i t s a m iraculous accom plishm ent.’’ says Ripken.

35. “I’m proud of the (a a of what it says: That I like to play and I w-ant to be in the lineup. It was never meant to be done, or set out to do. lf som eone had asked me at the beginning of my career if I would play 2.OCX) straight gam es. I would have laughed. I never would have thought it was possible."

Bob It’s so. well. Baltimorean. This city never has em braced glam our. Reggie Jackson was never accepted. Rick Dempsey was idolized.

Eddie M urray was abandoned w hen he asked to be traded. Joe O rsuiak was he Susquehanna River starts at Cooperstown. N.Y.. a tenth of a mile ! revered.

“T h e Oriole way has always been a little from baseball’s Hail of Fame. It different than the others." says form er Ori­ winds down past Williamsport. Pa., home of Little le a g u e Baseball. It flowsoles intothird basem an Doug DeCinces. “I ts the ultimate experience there."'

Chesapeake Bay at Havre de Glace. Md Now, Baltimore is sharing Ripken with the Thi< is the birthplace of Calvin Edwin Rip­ rest of the nation. He is the most respected ken Jr. baseball player, perhaps even the most He is the man who singlehandedly saved revered athlete. baseball, rem inding a nation of baseball's T d love the main focus of attention to be beau tv. on winning and the pennant race." Ripken He broke perhaps the most sacred record says, “m ore than me." in all of sports and now has'played in 2.153 Who knowns? Perhaps winning finally will consecutive games. ease the undying scrutiny on the streak. This When you think about it, its really nothing is a team that spent the offseason acquiring more than a blue-collar record. It doesn't re­ M anager Davey Johnson. General M anager quire 3.000 hits, or SOO home runs or 300 vic­ Pat Gillick. second baseman Roberto .Alomar, tories. You jus! have to keep showing up for closer Randy M yers, third basem an B J. work. You go to work when you're tired or

NIGHTENGALE

T

Royal blue Royals shortstop Jose Of­ ferman. replaced by Greg Gagne's more reliable hands in l>os .Angeles, says he couldn't wait to leave the D odgers after enduring his controversial tenure with them “It's hard to play when people com e down on you e v e n time vou make an error or a mistake." he says.

“You have to try and go on. but there was always a lot of pressure .. You can't enjoy I in control: Ron Guidry knnus playing when you know the the m iuc of George $ word m anager or 'lit* tans or I hr press i> going io make a big and I felt we had gone as tar deal ut ••very rm r. alamo a1 as we could with him. most **ven ins* ut; you I have no c o m p la in t .'.bout Yea or nay? the Dodger organization, out Yankees O w ner G eorge I don't think I was treated fairly by \ M anager Lorn I i ^ M einbrenner is giving his ak sorda .it a ll.... We didn t get most-annual volt. ol conlialong in tile last two re a rs .it hence lo his m anager O f all H»- was always looking course, the value ol ouch ; mr ways lo get me out of the vole «ias dropped, considerlineup mg M einbrenner didn't keep ins wo rd •in er gjvi ng votes of .■viv> L n s u r d a : ‘ll I d i d o t confidence to Bob le m o n . b k t inn), i vvouidn I h a r t p l a y e d i i j m .Almost e v e n - d a y Yogi Iterra. Bucky Dent and t o r nv« y e a r Jh e g u v o u t Dallas Green. When asked oui and never h u rt-c h a n g e d w hether new M anager loe u n. b u l > j u s t J i d n t t h i n k b e Torre would last h e season. w a s a v e r y good s h o r t s t o p .

S leinbrenner savs. “Sure. a

a

i I j I I

I j I

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Enoogt) abort Irom Cal Ripken (left) hopes he and brother Billy (right) can help the Orioles outshine his consecutivegames streak with pennant-race gold under new M anager Davey Johnson.

Surhoff and lefthanders David W ells and Kent M ercker.

Instead of getting older. Ripken feels like a kid again, ready to play another 12 consecu­ tive seasons.

“T h e re ’s always a certain am ount of opti­ mism in spring training." Ripken says, “but with all the changes we’ve made, the talent we’ve added, its easy to get a little m ore ex­ cited about our chances. Still, you try to guard som e of that optimism. You have to play together and earn the cham pionship, you have to go out there and win."

Perhaps now the Orioles will becom e America’s team. Maybe a nation will pull for

would you wrant to go in and I have been. But last rvear I n tell Joe Torre he's fired? Not was tremendouslv involved." me."

Lemon holds the record, Around the bases getting fired quickest after a The Giants secretly are confidence vote. He was fr8 negotiating extensions with when he was axed in 1982.

Bam - Bonds and Mart Berra received the worthless Williams in exchange for deguarantee before the 1985 ferring some of their money season, then Sleinbrenner under their existing con­ fired him 16 gam es in. with tracts. Each could be locked the Yankees out of it at 6-10. up until 1999 or 2000.... The Meanwhile, it has become reason .Angels pitcher Brian increasingly clear Steinbren.Anderson was traded to the ner is as involved as ever. He Indians in such a lopsided seem s uncom fortable.when deal was that he threatened the subject of his involve­ J to becom e a free agent. He ment is broached, but there was tendered a contract with is no denying he was the one a pay cut exceeding 20 per­ who: closed the big signings cent. which violated the Ba­ this winter (David Cone and sic A greem ent So Anderson Kenny Rogers); decided to insisted he wanted to be acquire Tim Raines to be the traded to *he indians, and leadoff man: wanted Dwight only the indians, or he would Gooden. file tor tree agency. Consid­ “W hen changes are made. ering Cleveland is his hom e­ I have lo get involved to a certain ex ten t.' Sleinbrenner I town learn, and chat agent Hon Shapiro's son works for says. “Bob Watson wasn't la­ the Indians, it made it1quite minar with how we do sim ple.... Look tor the Twins things. Joe Torre wasn't fa­ miliar with ’n ow we do to start shopping second baseman Chuck Knoblauch things. T here i.> an adjust­ the m om ent they tall out of ment period, there is a time contention. Simply, after penoci.... W hen asked. I get I winning his *irbitration case involved. . never projected myself into things. I was I at $4.67 million, the Twins more involved this vear than say they no longer can afford

the Orioles simply to see Ripken in the World Series. Maybe it will- be true justice that the man who saved baseball will be playing in baseball’s ultimate showcase.

W hatever the case. Ripken plans to keep playing and playing. He will not arbitrarily end the streak. Besides, he might as well go ahead and surpass the world record of 2J215 consecutive gam es by Japan's Sachio Kinogasa.

T h e fact that I broke the record." Ripken says, “doesn’t m ean that HI change my ap­ proach to the game."

You know something? We never expected different. !

to sign him to a multiyear contract.

The Giants are shopping catcher Kin Man waring in hopes they can sign freeagent catcher Joe Oliver at a lower salary. Indians slug­ ger .Albert Belle, who has av­ eraged 40 hom ers and 117 RBIs the past four seasons. is predicting the Indians will eclipse the alktime record of 111 victories in a season. “If our pitchers stay healthy. I don’t see why we shouldn’t" he says. “I'm not taking any­ thing for granted-, but I real­ ly believe we have a chance to win the most gam es ever in one season."... Roberto .Alomar shocked his form er Toronto club by dropping in on the first day of spring training. T he O rioles didn't start until the next day.

Force of habit? Or w a s h e r s considering? He says he was there simply to thank Toron­ to clubhouse w orkers for live years of looking'a fte r him. “I'm just visiting the guys." says Alomar.

Giants M anager Dusty Baker is am used by the D odgers' recent b o asts/ “W hat did the D odgers say they're going to do. they're going to bury everybody?"

Baker says. “It s going to be hard for (Tom) Candiotti to bun- you with his knuckle­ ball. isn’t it? W ell let them talk, and w ell do our own th in g ." ... Reds starter Mark Portugal, upon hearing that the Reds m ust shed $4 mil­ lion off their payroll: “I’m not stupid. They say they need to get rid of $4 million, which just happens to be how much I make."

The Basic .Agreement re­ quires that team s pay firstclass air fare for players' trips to spring training. That is why it cost $3,425 for Rangers out­ fielder Rikkert Faneyte's jour­ ney- from Holland. ♦ Bob N ighten gale covers j the Dodgers fo r the Los i A ngeles T im es. j • j

I j

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March 4,1996 }

f*

ATLANTA BRAVAS

COLORADO ROCKIES

Mc&riff Is focused: Fred MeGriff arrived in carap d e te rm in e d to h av e a b e tte r sp rin g th an last year. D u rin g last y ear's abbreviated camp, h e hit .240 with one h o m e run. th e n hit only five h o m e rs in the first six w eek s of the season. “I want to sta rt g o in g h ard and have a good sp ring training." h e says. "Som e people may feel spring training isn't im portant, but for me i t s very im p o rta n t" Pitch hitters: W inning is in the details, and d u r­ ing th e past five years th e Braves have been sticklers for details. O n e exam ple is in their co m m itm en t to their pitching staff. Although many team s limit th eir pitchers to brief batting practices, th e club has assigned coaches Jimy Williams and Jim B eaucham p to help th e pitch­ e rs im prove th eir hitting skills. T h e top four starters — T o m Glavine, G reg M addux, Steve Avery and Jo h n Smoltz — com bined to hit .172 iast season with 13 RBIs and 23 ru n s scored.

T h at's 24 points b etter than th e league average for pitchers. Glavine and Avery w ere th e top hitters. Glavine hitting .222 with a h o m e run and eight RBIs and Avery' .208 with two hom e ru n s and four RBis. M addux hit .153 and S m o ltz . 107. Between th e latter two. they' hit no h o m e ru n s and had one R B I.... If Bobby Cox listens to G eneral M a n a g e r Jo h n S chuerholz and m inor league coaches, he will carry Tyler H ouston a s a backup ca tc h e r and infielder.

Everyone says H ouston, th e club’s first pick in th e 1989 d ra ft is ready to play* in th e majors.

But Cox s e e s H ouston's u nim pressive m inor league career and isn't so sure. “H e's never had th e big year." Cox says.

— S a l ZACK

B ichette happens: D e­ spite co m in g off the m ost productive season of his c a re e r and having . contract security. Dante - B ichette h a s started off ca m p on th e w rong foot. First. h e m issed his flight to sp rin g train in g and sh o w ed up th r e e h o u rs late for th e first w orkou t. (His s h o u ld e r-le n g th h air d id n't e n d e a r him to M a n a g e r Don Baylor, e ith er.) T h e n in his se c o n d day in cam p, h e a n n o u n c e d his in­ tention to have recon stru ctiv e s u rg e ry on his left k n e e after th e seaso n to fix a to m anteri­ o r cru ciate ligam ent h e h a s played th ro u g h th e last four s e a s o n s . T h e k n e e p ro b lem c a m e up ii* co n tra ct n egotiations last fall. “I d id n 't th in k it w ould e v e r be held against m e." B ichette savs, “but obviously (G eneral M a n a g e r Bob) G eb h a rd held it against m e in the contract I signed. I’m not going to let that h ap p en again. I want to get it fixed." B ichette stum bled in fate, but Ellis B urks, who is mov­ ing from c e n te r field to left, c a m e in th re e d ays early, and l a m - W alker, m oving from rig ht to ce n ter, was on time. Baylor says he w an ts th e th r e e of th em to play to g e th e r as often as possible th is sprin g so they can get com fortable.

Wide Open: T h e battle for a spot in the rotation is wide open with at least IO ca n d id a te s for five jobs. T h e co m p any line is each h a s an eq u al o p portunity to claim one of th e spots Som e, however, are m ore equal than others.

Pitching coach Frank Funk is working around a possible rotation of Bill Swift. Kevin Ritz.

Bryan Rekar. Arm ando Reynoso and Marvin F reem an.

— TRACY Rm60lS8Y

Jeff Bagwell says he and Craig Biggio plan to take a m ore vocal role as team lead e rs this sea­ son. “It's time we stepped up." Bagwell says. T h i n g s we might have let slip by in the past, we are not going to let slip by this year. It's nothing personal, but rf so m ething n ee d s to be said, we're going to say it. I'm tired of getting close." Bagwell had toyed with the idea of ch a n g in g his open bat­ ting stance to protect his left hand, which he h a s b ro ken in each of the last th ree seaso n s when hit by a pitch. But he has abandoned theidea, believing the new protective device he began wearing last Septem ber will prevent fur­ th er injury.

Wagner Impresses: It s still early, but left­ h a n d e r Billy W ag n er h a s been the m ost im­ pressiv e player at cam p. On the first day of live pitching to batters. W a g n e r* fastball was clo ck ed al 96 m ph M a n a g e r T ern- Collin^ m ay want t* keep him on th e staff a re­ liever this seaso n ra th e r than send W ag n er back to Triple-A T ucson (Pacific Coast) for a lull se a so n a s a s ta rte r. ... T h e n o n -ro ste r player with th e best c h a n c e of m ak in g the team is rig h th a n d e d p itch er A nthony Young. w ho is a H ouston native. Young m ad e a s u r ­ prisingly last retu rn from elbow surgery last season to pitch relief for the Cubs. He had a 2.97 KRA in 31 relief a p p e a ra n c e s To s u c ­ ce e d th is se a so n . Young n e e d s to convince th e team that his elbow is healthy en o u g h tor him to help till th e void left w h en reliev er Dave V eres was trad e d to M ontreal for third b ase m a n Scan B e rr v — TERRY BLOUNT

FLORIDA MARLINS

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

•

CHICAGO CUBS Lait out? B e c a u se of a s u rp lu s of outfielders, especially in left field, a tra d e could b e in the w o rk s th a t would im­ prove pitching, p erh ap s a le fth a n d e r to go with th e rig h th a n d e d rota­ tion. Luis G onzalez is th e in c u m b e n t in left, but y o u n g Ozzie T im m o n s and S co n Bullett are challenging. ‘T h e r e s no doubt w e're backlogged in left field." Gonzalez says. T m sure if they need ed pitching, that would be th e first area they would look a t " T h e position is com ­ plicated by th e p re s e n c e of ro okie B rooks Kieschnick. w ho led the American Association in h o m e ru n s last seaso n , lf K ieschnick is re a d y for the m ajors, th e s u rp lu s in c re a se s even m ore. “B rooks h a s a c h a n ce to m ak e the d u b . but it d e p e n d s on th e philosophy we go with." M a n a g e r Jim Rigglem an says. “H e 's at th e m erc y of so m e o th e r th in g s b e s id e s his perform ance." K ieschnick is c o n sid ered a be­ low average fielder, so defensive help for him would be n ee d ed as well. ..*The rotation has not had a lefthanded s ta rte r since G re g Hib­ bard in 1993. Genera] M an ag er Ed Lynch says a lefty' isn’t necessary' “d ep e n d in g on who your rig h th a n d e rs are."

Sleeper pick: T h e sle e p e r in ca m p could be J o s e G uzm an, w ho h a s n ’t pitched since May23. 1994. b e c a u se of s h o u ld e r surgery- G uz­ m an. 32. w ho w as th e c o m e b a c k player of the y e a r in ’91 with T e x a s, h a s b e e n thro w ing since last fall. T h e y ’re not counting on m e. so I can co m e on and b e a plus." G uzm an says. “I did it o n e tim e already. I kn ow I can do it again."

— DAVE VAH DYCH

0

Inc o n t e n t With Butler back for the Dodgers.

Chad Fortville won't move to center.

CINCINNATI REDS

0

Greene opens poorly:

For starters: T h e only Willie G re e n e ’s q u e st to m y ste rie s to be an ­ b e c o m e th e O p en in g sw ered this spring: W ho will hit I and 2 in th e D ay th ird b a se m a n again and stay th e re this lineup? T h e team spent tim e got off to a bad $9 9 million to bring in s t a r t He sh o w ed u p to Devon W hite for offen­ sive and defensive help. w orkou ts a day late and \ out of shape, th en suffered back s p a s m s try­ But W hite spent alm ost all of last season hit­ ting in th e leadoff spot for T o ro n to , and the ing to run sp rin ts and w as sidelined several days. T h e rap on G reen e always h a s been that M arlins already have a pretty- good leadoff h e lacked th e w ork ethic to m atch his e n o r­ m an in Quilvio Veras, who led the majors with m o u s potential and power. Every tim e so m e­ 56 steals as a rookie last season. It's been as­ th in g like th is h ap p e n s, it m a k e s incu m b ensu t m e d since W hite's signing that V eras will be in the top spot. with W hite hitting No. 2. No Jeff B ranson — like G reen e, a lefthanded hit­ te r — m o re and m o re likely to at least pla­ p ro b lem , says W hite, w ho hit No. 2 behind Rickey H e n d e rso n for a while in T oronto. “I toon.

Rijo throws sliders: Starting p itch er J o s e Rijo. don't g et on base as m uch as a typical leadoff hitter, but I do help p ro d u c e runs." W hite w ho w as e x p e cted to m iss m o st if not all of savs. this season, has m ade great p ro g re ss in his re­ covery from T om m y Jo h n surgery and already A weighty Issue: Y orkis Perez cam e in almost IS p o u n d s lig h ter, at 210. Jo h n B u rkett did h a s been throw ing sliders in addition to fast­ th e sam e, to 200. .And C h a rle s jo h n s o n balls. But Rijo still is upset over O w n e r M arge d ro p p e d about IO. to 220. and th e tag “Big S chott's not offering to fly him to Los A ngeles for th e first two g am es of th e playoffs last year \ Hungry." T eam officials say a svelte Perez is a near-lock as th e chief le fth a n d e r in the but sec u rin g en o u g h seats on the airplane to bullpen. H e w as dazzling in the D om inican a c co m m o d a te a stuffed elep h an t and stuffed this winter, pitching like h e did two years ago St. B ernard. Rjjo was even talking about want­ w hen h e was 3-0 with a 3.54 ERA and Al ing to b e traded, but h e has backed off on that. s trik e o u ts in 40^- innings. T h e key. Perez ... T h e team already h a s lost outfielder says: “No m ore ch ick en w ings and b e e r." ...

T h o m a s H ow ard for four w ee k s b ec au se of a .After sp e n d in g alm ost th e en tire '95 seaso n b ro ken wrist and ca tc h e r D am on Berryhill for on th e D .L b e c a u s e of s u rg e ry on his right th e se a so n after s u rg e ry to his th row ing el­ knee. Ryan Bowen twisted the sam e k n ee two bow. N eith er w as expected to be m ore than a days into official w orkouts. MR! re su lts w ere platoon player, and both probably w ere head ­ negative, but B ow en's run at the lone bullpen ed for reserv e status. Don Siaught is th e lead­ vacancy (spot s t a r t e r /l o n g reliever) will be ing candidate to platoon with o r back up Eddie slowed: TOUEY T a u b e n se e at catch er.

— MOGE BASS 0

0

—Sam

HOI STON ASTROS Bagwyn takes charge:

Valdes

vs. Homo: O nce H ideo N om o and the D o d g e rs got to g e th e r on a three-year. >4 ^ m il­ lion co n tra ct last week. n e g o tia tio n s b e tw e e n th e clu b an d r i g h t ­ h a n d e r Ism ael Valdez quickly heated up N om o was th e ra g e last s u m m e r and was selected the N L. Kookie of th e Year Yet V aldes' statistics c o m p a re tavorably to N om o’s — each won 13 g arn er and ■ threw m o re th an 190 in ning s N o m o ’s ERA was 2.54 to Valdes' 3 05 G NI Fred Claire had d isc u ss e d only a one-year deal with Valdes bul s a y s h e wouldn't rule out a m ultiyear of • fer.

• Short or? a position: P eppery C h ad Fortville ju m p ed from C lass A lo th e big le a g u e s last s e a so n and w as a m ajor c o n tr ib u to r lo th e D o d g e r s ' w inning th e W est Division Fonville sta rte d 69 of the final To g a m e s and w a s th e s ta rtin g s h o rts to p th e final m onth . as well as for th e th re e g a m e s in th e division s e rie s again st C in cin n ati. Yet o n e of th e D o d g e r s ' first m o v es in th e o ffseaso n was to a c q u ire a n o th e r s h o rts to p , free ag en t G re g G a g n e T hey also b ro u g h t back c e n te r fielder B rett B u tle r and se c o n d b a se m a n Delino D eShields. two o th e r positions w h ere Fonville s ta rte d last vear. and h e 's received no m en tio n in th e battle for left field, w h e re he was a s t a r te r in eig h t g a m e s ‘ I can't let th at b o th e r m e." say s Fonville. referrin g to the arrival ot G agne. T m y o u n g (he tu n is 25 on T u e s d a y ), last se a so n was mv first v e a r . !

• can't let th in g s like that b o th e r m e My time will c o m e ' — Gordo* Verreu *

0

0

0

14 • N.L.

The Sporting News

I

Karttech makes progress: Most eyes focused on Pulsipher, Isringhausen and Paul Wilson last Friday, the first day of five batting prac­ tice. The most significant pitches thrown in camp Friday, 'however, were those with pedestrian velocity thrown to no batter.

Hours before the season premiere of the three young arms, Hamisch threw 45 pitches in IO minutes. Hamisch, she months removed from shoulder surgery, threw more freely and easily than he had in his four previous onmound appearances. Manager Dallas Green watched, approved and told Hamisch. “You ought to be encouraged by that." Hamisch didn’t have to be told. Today was progress," Hamisch said.

—HARTY NOBU

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PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES At home Ii left: When Ko sbocHn: FVhxi^ M anager Dallas Green gives young Mels pitchers a chance to get a leg up on a starting job, Pete Hamisch is making strides in his recoveryfrom shoulder surgery.

MONTREAL EXPOS Cai’t vis ’em all: Jeff Fassero won his arbitra­ tion hearing against the club, meaning hell get I $2.8 million this season r n instead of $2 million.

Fassero’s agent thinks it might prod an eventual trade, but President Bill Stoneman indicated that the club wouldn't rush out and move Fassero. T h e $800,000 well have to pay him isn’t asYftuch of a shock as losing the case is," Stoneman'says. The Expos had gone 5-0 in hearings since 1991.

Exposes: The club signed righthander Ben Rivera. 28. to a minor league contract Rivera. who last pitched with Philadelphia in 1994. missed last season after undergoing shoulder surgery.... Lefthander Carlos Perez continues to await the resolution of charges he raped and sodomized a 20-year-old woman last Sep­ tember in Atlanta. “I just want to concentrate on baseball nothing else." he said upon arrival in West Palm Beach. Fla., for spring training.

Team officials have asked him not to comment on the matter.... Claude Raymond, a Frenchlanguage broadcaster and former big league pitcher, had a word of advice for fellow Frencb-Canadian Rhea! Cormier. “He said 111 probably have to talk to the press every night — even if I’m not in the game." Cormier says.

... Michael Barrett the team’s top draft pick last year, escaped serious injury in an auto ac­ cident outside Gainesville. Fla. En route to spring training from his home in Atlanta, Bar­ rett rolled his pickup truck in a driving rain­ storm. totaling the vehicle and gashing the knuckles on his hand. However, he was back in training camp the next day. — JffF Bu®

NEW VORK .METS Spam!

tents:

Juan Acevedo, Robert Person and Dave Mlicki. the most likely candidates to take Pete Hamisch’s place in the rotation, made their first trainingcamp pitches last Friday.

Each was impressive, particularly Acevedo. who was obtained from the Rockies for Bret Saberhagen. G.M. Joe Mcllvaine never had seen Acevedo pitch. Trader Mac had trusted scouting reports and the raves of team per­ sonnel who had seen Acevedo pitch in the Eastern League two years ago. Acevedo led that league in victories and ERA and was named the league’s pitcher of the year for 1994. Bill Pulsipher and Jason Isringhausen were in the same league that year. “I liked his velocity, his variety, his velocity and his changeup." Mcllvaine said. “Did I mention I liked his velocity?"

Darien Daulton said he burned his catcher’s glove — but not his first baseman’s mitt — the caicher-turaed-left field­ er fueled speculation he would trade places with first baseman Gregg Jefferies. Manager Jim Fregosi, however, has squashed that possibil­ ity. “Dutch is going to play left field, and Gregg Jefferies is going to be the first base­ man." Fregosi says. “I think it’s easier on your legs to play left than it is first. Besides, I have people to defense for Dutch in the outfield."

Although Jefferies played 55 error-free games in left field last season, he feels more at home at first base and appreciated Fregosi’s saying that is where he’ll be. “It’s nice knowing that," Jefferies says. “Every organization that I have been with. I have played where they wanted me to play."

Padres1pal: During the final three years (1991 through *93) of his first stint with the club, Terry MuIhoDand was 41-33 with a 3.58 ERA under pitching coach Johnny Podres. In the past two seasons without Podres, Mulholland went 11-20 with a 6.11 ERA and allowed 340 hits in 269* innings. Now that the two have been reunited, Mulholland believes he can re­ turn to being the pitcher he was before.

T h ere is no doubt in my mind I can do that," he says. “I am not old (he’ll turn 33 on March 9) and it’s not like I am carrying around an ex­ tra 20 pounds and at the end of my career." Of the 31 pitchers in camp at the beginning. Muk holland threw the ball the best in eariv work­ outs.

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PH TSBl RGU PIRATES Playing Wagner. The dub needs starting pitchers, and it would love to see Paul Wagner '• step up and prove he be­ longs. Manager Jim Leyland started working on Wagner early by an­ nouncing the 16-game loser was set in the ro­ tation. Its a bit of a mind game to show Wag­ ner that management still has confidence in him. Wagner has a tendency to fret about mi­ nor matters, such as whether the organization likes him. By eliminating that distraction, Ivy­ land hopes Wagner can focus on pitching and get the most out of his considerable ability....

Leyland had a simple greeting for enigmatic Midre Cummings. “I told him I want to see him play as good as everyone told me he could,” Leyland says. With four outfidd spots already set, Cummings is a long shot to make the team. The Pirates will send him back to Triple A if they have to, but a trade remains a possibility. So far. G.M. Cam Bonifay reports he hasn’t been offered what he considers fair value in return.

Cool os Christiana!: With lefthander Zane Smith in carap as a non-roster player, team of­ ficials have cooled on the idea of making Ja­ son Christiansen a starter. Smith only has to prove he can give the team innings and ground balls to claim one of the two vacancies in the rotation.... Danny Darwin, 40, is eager to prove he can still pitch. Darwin says he lost some of his enthusiasm for the game in Toronto last year. He had knee surgery in the offseason and says he’s ready to make a come­ back.

—J o a M a n

ST. LO LIS CARDINALS Stetil speaks Oft Man­ ager Tony La Russa says the shortstop job is an “open competition," but Ozzie Smith doesn’t think that’s fair. T v e been playing for 18 years," Smith says.

“You put yourself in my shoes. How would you feel?" After 18 seasons as regular short­ stop — 14 of them with the Cardinals — Smith, 41, is being challenged by former Gi­ ants shortstop Royce Clayton. “What I’ve done over 18 years speaks for itself," Smith says. T h ey seem to have made decisions al­ ready. But baseball is a challenge, and ad­ versity also is part of the challenge." Smith says he will not consider a move to second base. T m a shortstop," he says. “When I can’t play shortstop anymore, I won’t play baseball anymore."

R ib b o n s t o t e : Outfielder Brian Jordan says he is going to be a team leader this sea­ son. T m going to stand up in front of the room and cuss everybody out if I see som e body being lazy," Jordan says. “I would hope that somebody would do the same with me. I want that type of leadership role."... Having been tagged with ERAs over 4.00 in each of the last three seasons, relief ace Dennis Eckersley plans a change — as in changeup. which he plans to use against lefthanded hit­ ters. ... La Russa says Gary Gaetti’s toughest task will be learning N .L pitchers. “He’s a guy who hits with an idea." La Russa says. “So its going to be important that he have some feel for what guys throw. But I think you’ll see him be productive early and get better as he goes along."

— R d HdmHB

M A K E 1996 YOUR M O S T ENJOYABLE BASEBALL SEA SO N EVER! now in vJjTH YEAH

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Tile Sporting News

S.ANDIEGOPADRES GwimD*s fntore: Tony GwxTin. one of base­ ball's great ambas­ sadors. u-ants to remain in the sport after his plaving days end — and the club intends to help him. Gw>mn told CEO Larry Lucchino that he would like to work in the front office after his career, intimately.

Gwynn would like to become a general mai^ ager, but he would be willing lo scout or per­ form other duties first T m willing to pay my dues." Gwj'nn says. Lucchino: T h e re is onl>’ one front ofi5ce he should be in. and th ats that of the San Diego Padres. \\Tien he goes into a front ofi&ce. he will approach it the same way he approaches b a s e b il Hell break it down.

He has a rich future.” Gwynn, who turns 36 in May. intends to pla>* until he is 40.

Rlcitffy is ready: Team ofiicials had been a tad nervous about Rickey Henderson, who had not returned phone calls lo Manager Bruce Booby and has a hisloo' of arriving lo camp later than clubs would like. Bul Henderson is oft to a good start: he arrived in camp a day earlier than expected and is in superb shape.

Henderson. 37. appears eager. He is working under his first incentive-laden conu^ct and will be making his National League debut.

"I'm here to help lake them to the title, help make San Diego a successful team.” he says. . V\1th the move to sign catcher Brad Ausmus. 26. to a two-year contract, it appears re­ serve Brian Johnson. 28. will be traded with­ in the nex*t two years. The d u b likes Johnson and thinks he can be a starter, bul it has committed lo .Ausmus. who is voungerand faster.

— foM KRASOVIC

CALIFORNIA .AN(iEI^

fto d a i\m ^Q e m e n $ is gitfing Red Sax waichm something to talk about in spring camp.

Contrary to published reports in Boston, he's taking offin top condition.

S.ANFR.ANCISCOGIANTSll B.ALTI.MOREORIOLES Rrst iBipmsslDRs: Cuban defector Osvaldo Fer­ nandez made a favorable impression on the likes of Malt Williams. Robby Thompson.

Shawon Dunston and Mark Carreon in throwing bat­ ling practice for the first time. Feniandez. a righthander, mixed a fastball that ran in on righthanded batters with a sharp roundhouse curve during a 60-pitch session. “He knows what he's doing. He's no rookie out there,” says Dunston, who describes Fernandez's fastball as "sneaky' hard." The team w-as criti­ cized by other executives for signing Fernan­ dez to a three-year. S3.2-miIlion contract in January; detractors say Fernandez doesn't throw hard enough. Fernandez, projected as the No. 4 starter, said he was nervous because he w*as throwing to batters for the first time since pitching in the Dominican Winter League.

Boffed Bonds: Left fielder Barry’ Bonds re­ ported in the best shape since joining the team in 1993. thanks to an offseason work­ out program Bonds dropped his body fat from IO percent lo 8 percent and increased his bench press to 315 pounds. Bonds vows to stay away from controversy and says he isn t obsessed with individual honors: “lf people want lo say (Ken Griffey Jr.) is better, fine I don't care." .. .A target date of March IO has been set for right fielder Glenallen Hill's rftu m . Hill is recovering from a left ham slnng tear. . Bench coach Bob Lillis.

G.S, will retire after this season, his 11th with the team - - M ark Gokzales

HOSTONREDSOX

Second to dodb; Roberto Rock*soIld R o g ^ He Alomar, who left the may no longer be the struggling Blue Jays lo main man on the team, eign a three-year. $18but Roger Clemens sliD million contract, look ■has a way of taking cen­ his place alongside Cal ter stage in spring train­ Ripken and happily pon­ ing. Reported to be out dered the possibilities of shape by a Boston of a star-studded lineup. “Its great lo be columnist who based his opinion on a TV around so many great players." Alomar says. show, Gemens, as usual arriWd in top condi­ “It lakes a lot of pressure off you. It's similar tion. *1 guess y’aD got to write something." he to when I was playing in Toronto. The guys sa>'s. “It means nothing to me. I always come had great talent and they did their jobs. We in about IO pounds over what I like to be when have talent, bul we still have to go out and do I pitch and work it off! Nothing's changed."... the job.” ... BJ. Surhoff didn’t play a game al Jose Canseco made news by being a no-show third base last season, but he arrived at camp for the first workout which initiaDy ticked off confident he would be ready to play full time G.M. Dan Duquette. Accordii^ to ffie current by the start of the season. T h a t was one spot labor agreem ent players aren't bound to be in that I didn't get to last year, so 111 have to camp until February 27 regardless of what reacquaint myself with it,” Surhoff says. “But date the team sets. Canseco was forgiven I think a lot of it comes with experience." when it was learned he partidpated in a charSurhoff also can play outfield and wiD show­ Jty golf ibumament \dth. and at the request of. up as DH on occasion, but he was acquired team CEO John Harrington. to replace the Leo Gomez/jeff Manic platoon All sables I v Dmr After g e tti^ his first look at at third. He last played there regularly in his '96 team. Manager K e rn Kennedy is all 1993 with the Brewers. smiles. “We've upgraded our balldub." he Decision time: Johnson faces some difficult says. Kennedy's biggest question is the health roster decisions over the next several weeks. of Aaron Sale, who hasn’t pitched regularly Four players — Manny Alexander. Oscar since late May because of r i ^ t shoulder prob­ Munoz, .^an Mills and Arthur Rhodes — are lems. “If I stay healthy and regain the feel and out of options, which means that the club control. I should be fine." says SeJe. who start­ must keep them on the roster or risk losing ed just six games for Boston last year but them on waivers. Mills and Rhodes are reha­ made six rehab starts in the m in o rs.... The bilitating after surgery, so they can start the Red Sox have hired Maury Wills to help tutor season on the disabled list But the club could their basemnners. Wills, a friend of Kennedy. run into a numbers problem with the other is trying to lure former sidekick Sandy Koufax PWO. both of whom are vert* much on the bub­ lo Fort Mvers to help out with the Red Sox ble — P eter Schawck pitchers.

— JOE BfflUOm

SKH fm cast The chib has offered Gold Glove first baseman J.T. Snow SS million over three years, with an opdoo for a fourth year. T hafs „ quite a compliment for someone the Angels tried to trade in the last two sfHings. Snow al­ most went to the Mets in 1994 for pitcher An­ thony Young, who was coming off a 1-16 sea­ s o n The dub also was disclosing xmiltiyear contracts with outfielders Ttm Ecfiionds and G arr^ Anderson and r^ev a-T ro y P e id v a l...

DH Chai Davis was AWOL for the first few ftilkean} workouts. T think he has missed the first day of camp for the last five years," G.M. Bin B a : ^ says. “He’s our Pedro Guerrero. I think he bad visa problems coming in from Scottsdale (Ariz.)"... Steve Ontiveros, signed to be the No. 4 starter, is nursing a sore groin.

Payhacfc Chuck Finley took less money to stay v iA the dub than he could have received dsewhere, and now be wants a ring for his sacrifice.

“I want it to happen here so bad," F in l^ says.

“Guys come here and say. Hey. this is nice,’and I say. Teah. think how m udi mcer it would be if we won.’ Because Eve seen that side of it, when we won (&eA-L West tide) ray first year in ‘86."« The Angels* leadoff hhter probably wiB be second baseman Randy Velarde. “His onbase percentage has been good," Manager Mar­ cel Lachemann says. “He may not be your pro­ totype. as far as speed g o ^ He won’t get IOO walks. Eke Tony Philfips (fid. Tony was proba­ bly as good as you are going to g k at i^ o f f .

But he (Velarde) can do a lot of f if e things, He can work the count On our balldub, be is by h r the nK)st k)gicd chok£." —O ak CoanHAII

CH1CA(;0 WIHTH s o x B s lM Ip: Look for the 1995 figure of 7.96 stranded runners per game to change with a lineup that indudes Tony Phillips, Harold Baines. Danny Tartabull Frank Thomas and Robin Vendira. The team ranked last in stranded runners, d e c ile getting a combined 204 RBIs from Thomas and Ventura. Manager Terry Bevington and new batting coach BID Buckner began working on situational h i t ^ in camp. “It*s not that we couldn’t do it: we just weren't consistent with it" Bevington says.

“Obviously, you’re not going to see a Frank Thomas, Danny TartabuD or Harold Baines putting down a b u n t That'd be like Wilt Cniamberlain t a l ^ 3-point shots. Tm sure Buddy Ben isn’t in Detroit’s camp asking Ce­ d i Ftdder to sacrifice."

Lookieg good: Wilson Alvarez arrived in bet­ ter shape than a year ago. T m only three pounds lighter (245)." he says. But General M anager Rod & hueler wasn’t so certain.

“M a)fe (that's t r u e ) Schueler says, “but last year it-was distributed differently."... Bev­ ington wants the new outfield of Phillips, TartabuU and Darren Lewis to spend ^ e spring getting to know each other defensive­ ly. “W ell make sure they take fly balls and grounders on the same field every day." he s a y s.... Joe Magrane. whose career was set back for two years by an automobile acddent, is try ^ g for a lefthanded relief job. “No promises." Schueler says. “He was told h e’d get a chance, and that's all he wants. Right now, he's a project’ — JOE BoOOARD

ILL*17

M arch 4.1996

DETROIT TIGERS

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Drew tars Instructor Robin

Yount relaxes while the Brewers stretch at spring training.

CLI*V K I A X ! ) I N D I A N S ta r attn tee Ho. 5: Mark Clark has a $900,000 contract and the most experience, but be has no edge in the race to be the fifth starter. “It will com e down to who has the best spring," Manag­ er Mike Hargrove says. The other contenders: Chad Ogea, Albie Lopez and Bnan Anderson.

“I will do everything I can do to win the fifth spot," says Clark, who was 9-7 with a 5 2 7 ERA in 1995. “But it's really up to them. But I don't think any one of us starts with a leg up." Gen­ eral M anager John Hart says if Clark isn't the fifth starter, teams will want to trade for him.

Clark would prefer to stay put Black Jack scare: On his return to Winter Haven. Fla. after visiting friends in Sarasota.

Jack McDowell was involved in a traffic acci­ dent that demolished his rental car McDow­ ell's car flipped when he swerved on the shoulder after the traffic ahead of*h im stopped suddenly due to an accident. M c­ Dowell was not injured. "I was scared out of my mind." he says “I ended up upside down If I didn't have mv seat belt on. I’d be dead — easily. " . Negotiations began with Albert Belle, who can be a free agent after the rea­ son. “One thing we are going to do is avoid the acrimony and the mudslinging that went on between Mo Vaughn and the Red Sox. Hart says. "That was a debacle. You can ne­ gotiate a contract without all of that." Belle hit 50 home runs and .50 doubles last season.

Orel H ershiser says he only auditioned for an analyst job with Fox so he would be pre­ pared when he retired — SURDO! OCKER

CtartPs time: T h e club will open itself to sec­ ond-guessing if. as some suspect, it is considering another full year of mi­ nor league seasoning for first baseman Tony Clark. .Although Clark endured an 0-for-20 stretch and revealed little defensively in a s o s o September showing, the rebuilding T igers are a perfect situation for him to get major league experience. It has been almost six years since the club made him its No. I pick, and this is the time to see whether he's an everyday big-leaguer. A rush to judgment on top 1988 pick Rico Brogna. now a starter with the M ets, proved embar­ rassing. ... Clark’s attempt to take over first base wasn't helped when incumbent Cecil Fielder arrived in camp slimmer than he has been in years. Fielder says he dropped only a couple pounds — to 225 — but he looks as if he has lost at least 20. Now it’s uncertain whether Fielder is the first baseman, desig­ nated hitter o r a LrttJe of each.

WeD-armsd: M anager Buddy Bell says he plans on breaking camp with 11 pitchers and two catchers. John Flaherty and Mark Parent Form er third baseman Phil Nevin. working out as a catcher, could be an em ergency re­ ceiver. ... Bell says righthander Sean Bergm an is the only definite in the rotation. ... Barring a dreadful spring, expect Tim Fortugno to win a spot in the bullpen. He's the only lefty in camp with any real major league experience. Bell says it’s highly unlikely pitchers Cade Gaspar and Mike D rum right the club's top picks the past two years, will make the team.

— RHD CREASES

Stadium problems: After steady progre s s plans ior a $250-million. retractable-root siadium hit a big snag when the club asked to restructure a $50-million state loan and sniff Seeking security. Closer responsibility from the team to the stadium Mike Petters wants to district state officials rejected the reque-i extend his contract. ‘ I Talks continue, but a mid-March ground­ really 'want to stay in breaking is now unlikely. ... Mike Matheny Milwaukee."

Fetters entered camp as the No I catcher “ H e says. “.And if we're going df**sn I have a lot of experience (219 ai-bais to do an extension, why in the m ajors). Manager Phil Garner m w not do it in spring train­ “but d e is a mature kid " Kelly Stinnett and ing? That way. I can just worry about pitching Matt Nokes are contenders for backup dutv this year." G.M. Sal Bando disagrees. “It s not Contrary to reports. Ben McDonald won t something we're interested in doing right start the season opener. The rotation calls ior now," Bando says. “I t s not a question of abili­ McDonald to pitch the home opener (April 9. ty. Its a question of health. Mike has a histo­ against the A's) “We said he would staff ry of arm problems, and we need to know that Opening Day." G am er explains. “W e rirdn r he's going to be O K " Fetters is in the final sea­ son of a two-year deal that will pay about $1.55 I say which one '. Pitcher Henry Santos, from million this year “I’m not asking for the the Dominican Republic, was late because of moon." Fetters says, “just a couple stars." visa problems. ' ~ — CREW QlSOi

MILWAUKEE BREWERS

FREE I )l W U >M > ( X

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/

YOU CAN GET ALL. THE M a jo r L e a g u e C a ps o n O ne P o st e r .

Bittie reyali: Only two

spots on the 10-man pitching staff appear open. Manager Bob Boone is looking fo r a starter to go behind Kevin Appier. Mark Cu­ b i t s . Chris Raney and Tim Belcher. Among those in the hunt are left­ handers Jason Jacom e. Tom Browning and Dave Fleming, plus righthanders John De Sil­ va, Kris Ralston and Robert Toth. Jacom e is the front-runner because he finished last sea­ son in the rotation, but h ell have to win the job after losing all four of his decisions in a poor September. Browning, a Reds star until he broke his arm throwing a pitch in 1994. says, “I t s now or never They’re not going to be knocking on my door forever."

Ballpen evening: The fifth spot in the bulloen is open, too. Among the candidates is lefthander Jeff Granger. No. I draft pick in 1993 and pre­ i viously a starter Coach Guy Hansen, who helped convert Granger to relief in Puerto Rico this winter, says. “He became a stalker I think h e’s a natural reliever ( )thers include righthanders Terry Clark. Torn Helens and Kick Hufsman and lefties Mike Remlinger and Allen McDill. Fkxine expects the other four re­ lievers to be Jell Montgomery. Hipolito Pichardo. Mike Magnante anet Rusty M eacham. .Although ne had a pour 1995.

M eacham reestablished himself by develop­ ing a sharp forkball which gave him a O OO. ERA in 15 Puerto Rico appearances.

Pitcher Dilson Torres' chances to make the club di­ minished when he was hung up in Venezuela by a visa snag.

— O ld KAESS.

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The Sporting News

TEXAS RANGERS

MINNESOTA TWINS Jawing with Pack: In his

On time: For the first

first batting-practice ap­ pearance ol the spring — and the first time he had hit since a Dennis Martinez pitch broke his jaw last September — Kirby Puckett deposited a ball over the fence on just his second swing.

While the hit did come off Manager Tom Kek lv. Puckett says he isn't concerned about re­ turning from the mjurv “No stage tright at all."

Puckett says. “ No nothing. I wasn't scared. I hit with (Oakland's) Tem Stein bach ad win­ ter People said i might be scared But I didn’t have a chance (against Martinez), Bang. bang.

It happened so quickly. Boom. Next thing I knew. I was on the ground But I got up before the standing eight count/ Puckett turns 35 on March 14. and that/ whv rn decided to hit over the winter tor the first tune.

Twins Hts: Closer I lave Stevens was nursing a sore shoulder, although the team says it s nothing senous. Stevens tonsils were re­ moved in early December, and he wasn't able to do his normal winter workout. Stevens dropped to 165 pounds atter the surgery, but snowed up in Fort Myers at 197.... Paul Mobtor s surgically repaired right shoulder is sore. but he says it's from over-eager rehabilitation atter last November's surgery ... Kelly is toy­ ing with dropping Puckett to fourth in the bat­ ting order and flirting Molitor third.... Kelly says that, as of now. his tour starters are Rick .Aguilera. Brad Radke, Frankie Rodriguez and i aTrov Hawkins, with the fifth spot open. Jose Parra and Rich Robertson — the only left­ hander in the mix — are likely the top con­ tenders for the job.

— SCOTT mRiHl

time in years, ail nine lineup regulars checked into camp at least two days before the first mandatory workout. Its a good sign that Manag­ er johnny pates and General Manager Doug Melvin have trans­ formed the “me-first" attitude of recent years.

“I think it shows that people are serious around here about winning," first baseman W ill Clark says. “I think it’s a direct reflection on johnny and on everybody in here wanting to win." The most notable early arrival was outfielder Juan Gonzalez, who used to stay away until March. “Last year I had a long time of not playing because of injuries and the dis­ abled list," Gonzalez says. T h is year. Ive come here to work hard early and prepare my mind and body tor a long season." Gonzalez weighed in at 229 pounds. 15 fewer than his playing weight of last season. Most of the weight has been dropped from his upper body. “All my body is more loose." Gonzalez says. "I feel more loose in my body and with my swing."

W ere there's a WHI: Clark says the left elbow that bothered him iast season feels fine. He considered offseason surgery, but was told he could rehabilitate without it. He began his offseason workouts the last week of Novem­ ber, which was earlier than normal. He also has added 12 more pounds, but with less body fat. . Oates is considering moving Gon­ zalez from left field to right. “It’s not written in cement.' he says, “lf you asked me today where Juan would be Opening Day. I don’t know."

— T .R . Stim y ut

NEW YORK YANKEES

Joan’s m r Gonzales reported to the Rangers' camp early, in shape and talking about hard work.

W ill Clark credits management. Its a direct reflection on Johnny (Oates),' he says.

I

OAKLAND A’S

Leading men: One of the

A bad start Ifs early, but

big vamp issues is who will replace Don Mat­ tingly as team leader Manager Joe Torre decided not to name a new captain, bu? Owner George Steinbrenne" has nominated a candidate to replace Mat­ tingly "David Cone is <*ssential to this team I ve lost one ol the great leader/ Steinbrenner says, "leadership to me is going lo come {rom a certain number of people ... (‘W ade Hogg'* . Cone is essential I watched how players looked at Lone in Seattle The\ looked a; Cone with respect.’ Lone. who signed a >19.5-million contract, isn I surprised by the challenge “ ll'" not like fin blind — I knew what i was getting into.’ Cone says. "i can help Bul i don ! think a pitcher can lead day in and day out I think well have leadership by *ommuer ". Jimmy Key threw without pain Mir times rn eight days, but Torre says he isr : counting on him vet Out pattern: On ms first day hi camp. Tony j emandrz announced ne wants to be traded ! n* shortstop job is rookie Derek Jeter’s to i«»M — and nobody expects that to happen Bu: there appears lo be limited interest in I -rnandez ... Ruben Sierra was happy lo tear in- will be given a chance to play ie ti held But left fielder Tim Kames exprew d us •erevi in doing some IHT duty . Demit W illiams won a 75u percent pas raise through irbitration. going trorn 540U.(XXi in SS million john Whiteland wa" signed rn a one-year. s I.million deal with a places option tor " J million — Jon Hetmaji

Ariel Prieto's spring has been one of disappoint­ ments so far Attending his first camp, the team’s top draft pick was 20 minutes late the day pitchers and catchers had their first workout He blamed moving his wristwatch to Pacific time instead of Mountain time. .After dressing and rushing to the field, the tonner Cuban National team member then inlormed club officials he hadn t picked up a baseball in three weeks because he had no one to play catch with in Naples. Fla. .“That s not music to my ears." Manager .Art Howe says Prieto nonetheless threw the minimum 32 pitches — most of them unimpressive.

Howe and pitching coach Bob Cluck have pen­ ciled Pnetu into the starting rotation. along with Todd Nan Poppei and Doug Johns. Prieto didn t fare-much better in his second throw­ ing session, scattering lastbails all over the place Todd Van starter. Van Poppet, once considered a prime candidate to move to the bullpen and close games, won t become Dennis Eckersiey’s heir apparent. Cluck and Howe w;ere re­ lieved last week when Van Poppei told them “rn* offense, but I d rather start. ’ ... Steve Karsay mac have undergone “Tommy john" surgery iast june, but that’s not stopping the one-tin it* promising youngster from believing hr can win a spin on the 25-man roster Karsay nas been given the go-ahead to throw as hard a" he wants Club officials don’t expect Karsay lo wow them, but early reports are to the con­ trair — PEBRO GOMEZ

SEATTLE MARINERS Just

;

kidding:

Randy Johnson created a con­ troversy when he told a newspaper reporter he wanted to pitch for the expansion .Arizona Dia­ mondbacks when the team begins playing in 1998. Johnson’s four-year contract expires at the end of the 1997 season, and he has owned an .Arizona home for two years. Johnson, last season s A .L Cy Young winner, also criticized management for being more concerned with a new stadium than improving the team before backing down the next day, saying he was only kidding. ... Makoto Suzuki finally is healthy and making an impression. “His bai) is really alive." Manager Iou Piniella says.

“You can tell he’s healthy, and he’s throwing the bail where he wants to. He looks good."...

Spring attendance is at an airtime high — and the games haven't even started interest has skyrocketed because of the team s first West Division championship. On the home front season-ticket sales have surpassed 10.000 for the first lime ft’s time: .Alex Rodriguez says he's ready to take over at shortstop. There is no doubt in my mind i'm ready." he says. “None whatso­ ever. I can bring the team good defense, en­ ergy. speed and some power." Piniella has Ro­ driguez. 20. penciled in as his starter. “We're not handing him the job “ Piniella says, “but he would have to stumble awfully bad not to claim it."... finiella and pitching coach Bobby L uellar have set a “very tentative" early rotation of Johnson. Sterling Hitchcock. Chris Bosio and Bob Wolcott — JIM STRST *

*

TORONTO BLIT JAYS Minor

setback:

Tim Crabtree, a long shot in the battle with Bill Rislev and Mike Timlin tor the vacant closer job. un­ derwent arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a minor cartilage prob­ lem. He should be back in three weeks. Risley appears to have the inside track on Tim lin....

Left fielder Joe Carter, the subject of trade ru­ mors for months, says he doesn't want to leave Toronto, “ I don't want to be traded: Ive en­ joyed great success here." says Carter, who concedes the team's wholesale lineup changes have been necessary'. ... Catcher Charlie O'Brien, who was signed as a free agent, al­ ready is paving dividends. “First of all. he's here because he can play." G.M. Cord .Ash says. “I watched him warm up Jose Silva the other day. When he was done, the two talked for IU minutes. Charlie telling him what to work on. I don 't remember ever seeing one of our catchers do that." \ Stating over. Hoping to change his important numbers. Juan Guzman has switched from No. 66 to 57 — the number he wore in winter ball. T h is is a new year, i want to start fresh." says Guzman, who is 16-25 over the last two seasons after starting his career 40-11. Guz­ man says he will 'heed Manager Cito Gaston's advice and reb-more on power than breaking pitches. “We think he's back." pitching coach Mel Queen says.... Frank Viola, who is work­ ing on a minor league contract, thinks he can win a job. Viola pitched in the team’s minor league system last season after recovering from elbow surgery — STEVE MUHM

March 4,1996

M

In this game, there is no substitute for speed

GLAUBER wo words of advice for those of you attempting to keep up with the frwagent m arket: Don't blink. Team s have w asted little time lining the pockets of the best available players, bidding w ars are guaranteed to continue at a hectic pace over the next month. "! don’t think Iv e ever quite seen things move this fast" C hargers director of player personnel Billy Devaney says. T h in g s are happening very quicldy."

Perhaps that’s why the C hargers and sev­ eral other clubs ^ d n 't even let their most-cov­ eted would-be free agents reach the m a rk e t Players such as C hi*gers defensive tackle Shawn Lee, Falcons left tackle Bob Whitfield and Cowboys safety D arren W oodson were re-upped within hours of the signing period.

But for other upper-echelon players, the wheeling and dealing began almost immedi­ ately after the signing period opened. A far cry from the Reggie \ ^ t e World Tour in ’93,

T

when the Afi-Pro defensive end was whisked

1

9

1 Jo n es w as (iev rib t-d a-^ heart2 b r o k e n a fte r h e c o u id n ’l m a tc h S th e R aid ers six-year. ' ' I ’^rnili- h o n d e a l D allas will h a v r n.

across the countiy in private jets and feted by politicians, local business executives and other 3 reiv f>n .'nconsisieni Chad Henassorted high rollers before finally settling on nmgs. wnile Maryland learns the Packers. These days. all it lakes is a phone » with Che-iter MctihK'klon -t. call and a fax machine to get a deal done.

5 torn! one of the lcagu*‘'s b<-si .And it’s the league's two expansion learns inside combos. The only nsk A IW W Jag: Jacksonville made Shorty the hi^est-paid offensive who seem to be doing m ost of the phoning la a o r .Marvland's chronic tun tackle in the S F L and he is worth the investment and ^ i n g . Because both team s were start­ toe problem, which ha.'- limited ing from ground zero a year ago. they didn’t It now that he is in the glamour position in ihr him the last three -masons. have the salary baggage of the 28 established Bears' defense.

Darryl Wiltiams, S, Seahawks. o n e ot the reams. So when free agency began this time.

Lacn Searcy, CT, Jaguars. n > much tor thr least heralded players on (he market Carolina was about S 12 million under the cap idea that Jaguars C oach/drill sergeant Tom Williams is a periect fit tor the ^eahawks He and Jacksonville was $13 million under. The Coughlin wouldn't be able to a ttra a big-name excelled under Denni'i Hnckson at Miami Jaguars took all of about five seconds to grab free agents. In other words, money talk*; and he'll do the '^ m e in N-attle or D x .AnSteelers offensive tackle Leon Searcy, then Coughlin made Searcy the highest-paid tack­ gele< or w herever els<* Ken B ehang designed Bears defensive end Alonzo Spellman le in football (five years. $17 million) by pay­ cide> lo move and Colts linebacker Quentin Coryatt to offer ing a seemingly ridiculous amount for a righi Jum bo Elliott, OX, J e ts . The Jets had lo sheets. “I think it sends a huge m essage," tackle. But rem em ber. Searcy will be prih o v r r p a y t o g e t E l l i o t t ( f i v e y e a r s . <11 ' and the Jaguars Vice President M ichael Huyghue tecting lefthanded Mark Brunell’s blind side. mi l l i o n ) , bul t h a t ' s t h e u n i v♦ wav^ t h e v4 w v r e says. "People want to pfey here. They see this so it's worth the extra investment. going to pry this consistent left tackle iroin as an opportunity to be a cham pionship Larry Brtmn, CB, Raiders. No offense to ih r the (hants The lets hop** Elliott's arrival will team."

Super Bowl MVF. but let's face it: You or I t'Oiice Neil O l)oiinell to n>ake the jump Carolina, meanwhile, needed only five could have caught those Neil O'Donnell pass­ Troy V incent, CB. w elcom e to the s;dar\ days to ante up to get 49ers cornerback Erie es. But the Raiders acted as if B r o w n had cap . Jim m y. H aving a lre a d y lo-^i Cox. Davis. Raiders offensive tackle Greg Skrepeleaped through the air and done back flips to D olphins Loach Jimmy jo h n so n laces the oak and Saints tight end Wesley Walls. m ake the two interceptions. Five years at decision of w hether lo match Mncent'-i fiveLook for m ore fest and furious dealing in the year. $l*>mi!lion offer shei*l from the KagleS12.5 million? Please days ahead. In the meantime, h ere's a look at Qaeetln Coryatt, LB. A $6-miilion signing Vinceni is one of the league'-^ top three left the IO key transactions in free agency’s first com erbacks and could develop into No i bonus as pan of a five-year. S18-milIion offer Alonzo Spellm an, OE, Bears. T he H ears IO days: sheet sounds like an awfu! lot to me. Espe­ cially when you consider Coryatt has had just Col, LB, B oas. He spits at fans and m ade a calculated gam ble with Spellm an and lost. Fhey could have had him locked up m akes obscene gestures on a routine basis. one above-average season. And correct me if in D e c e m b e r for s lig h tly m o re th a n >2 He scream s at opposing players, even at his I’m wrong, but didn't Coryan drop what million a year Instead, they were forced to coaches. He treats on-field officials and^ would have been a game-saving interception match Jacksonville's $3 million-a-year offer league executives with nothing but contempt. I for the Colts in the .AFC championship game? sheet. Sorry. gu>x. ihat'-i too much tor (bx Yet for all his questionable personality traits.

Erie Darts, ES, PantJwrs. The 49ers called underachiever Cox is one heil of a football player. H ell prove signing Davis their most pressing offseason

Deioifs decision OK. SO the Pizza Hut com­ mercial is obsolete, now that Deion Sanders has decided that “both" is no longer b e st Bul Sanders’ decision lo for­ go baseball this year is the right decision, the one that gives him the best chance to show how magnificent he can be on the football field.

Sanders had hinted dur­ ing the playoffs that he was thinking about a footballonlv• itinerarv# in '96. a move that figures to dim inish his endorsem ent appeal But as far as the Cowboys are concerned, this is terrific.

Not only does Sanders get lo play a ffill season, bul for the fiiW tim e in his pro foot­ ball career, h e ll participate in a full training camp.

Sanders once vowed never lo even think of such a thing.

“I don't need no training camp." he said a few days b e fore winning his first Super Bowl ring. But by sweating it out in .Austin. Sander^ can m aster the Cowboys' offen­ sive playbook and becom e

*

priority, bul the Panther-swiped him from their NFC West foes tor $11 4 million over lour vear^ Now »hrv don'! havv to wiirry so much about covering Jerrv Hic** ’Wive a yt'ar ^ Russell Maryland, OI. ^ Raiders, Lowboy'^( iwmer Irrrv

NFL REPORT

Bob

F I

Neon sigil: BasebaU’s loss / may be Canton'%gam. even more effective as one of Troy .Alleman s key targets. .■^d there s even more up­ side potential to the footballonly gig. if Sanders can re­ main healihv for another three or four years, h ell be­ com e a lock for the Hall of Fame. Good move. Deion.

Even if M adison .Avenue doesn’t agree.

Tairqjw proof Free-agency rules prohib­ it team s from m aking con­ tact with players from other

chibs until their contracts ex­ pire. bul such tam pering rules have been largely ig­ nored this year. .Near the end of last season *and in the weeks leading up to the signing period, team executives routinely contact­ ed agents for players who would becom e fre^ agents.

How prevalent has the prac­ tice become? “I would say it would probably run into the hundreds of instances where th e re s talk between the teams and the agents before free agency begins." one club executive says.

In one instance, a club w-as in co n taa with the agent for a prospective free agent no less than five tim es before the signing period started, though the player eventually re-signed with his club.

Considering the penalty for tampering is the rescind­ ing of draft choices, the ram­ ifications could be stagger­ ing if the league took action on al! the apparent cases^ But so far. only the Sleek ens. upset about the Jets public com m ents about .Neil

O’Donnell a week before free agency began, have lodged a formal complaint. problem is. how do you patrol it?" a club execu­ tive says. "I'ntil you see som ething in the papers or on television, there’s no way to police it"

Quick hits C hargers running back Natrone .Means could be on the trading block before long. He may have become expendable for two reasons; his $2.,'kmillion cap num ber in 1996. and the em ergence of second-vear tailback •Aaron Hayden, who filled in * well during M eans extend­ ed absence last vear because ot a groin injuty Colts Coach Undy Infante, on last week s signing oi tormer Packers bust Tony .Mandarich: ‘I like lo cal) it an ex­ perim ent We have very little nsk in this attem p t If the expenm ent works, we ll look like we know what we're doing." .Neither Jets Pres­ id e n t S te v e ( iu im a n n o r

Coach Rich Kotite has ad­ mitted as much, bul two sources familiar with the team 's situation say Gutman was behind the deci'^ion to hire an offensive coordina tor. who turned out to bv Hon Erhardt. (i<Mxi call, considenng Kotite's offense lan­ guished near the bottom of the league and Erhardt x one of the prem ier offensivi* coache'-. Incidentally. \hv last Jets coach who wa-asked lo run* an olTensive co­ ordinator was Bruce Coslet. who politely declined and was then shown the diKir bv then-(j .VI Dick Steinberg Memo lo lorm er IHers running back Roeer c raig. who says ne x coniempiaimg a conv'back You can t be st'fiou^ Hoi rum or turned cold r h e -D olphins will m ake a blockbuster deal to acquire Coils ru n ­ ning bacK M arshall Kaulk. who missed nearly all of the playoTts wnih a knee injurv' Doiphm>- Coach Jimmy lonnson s reaction? I>aughler Vlemo to Neahawk^ D w ner Ken Be h a n g , who

v o w s lo m o v e lo U>s .Ang<ies bul won t g et e n o u g l i s u p p o r t f r o m h i s fellow o w n e r s T h e r e s a o n e - w o r d nol u t i on lo ail y o u r p r o b k - m s ' Nell l*he ( iianl ' - a r e inl e r e s l e d in I ' a c k e r s ire*agent wideout M ark In­ g r a m . t h e G i a n t s ' firvt-rouno p i c k in 19f<7 The ( i i a n x also a r e e y e i n g tree-agt-m r e c e i v e r s I rv i n g K r v a r .tm!

Fred Barnett L ook I)olphins iree-ageni g u a m K eiih S i m s lo gem-raiih e a v y interi *s{ o n c e ^li t h e t o p t a c k l e s havt- bt-t is signed ♦

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NEW YORK JE1S

JwabO Je t Although he is leaving the Giants, New York still will be kamefor Elliott

.MIAMI DOLPHINS M as) r t e To match or not to match. That is the question facing Coach Jimmy Johnson and the team’s front office after free-agent cornerback Troy Vincent was signed to an offer sheet by the Eagles. Vincent, the seventh overall pick of the 1992 draft has been a starter since his rookie season and was designated as a transi­ tion player. That gave the team seven days to match die Eagles’ offer or let another of thenkey defensive players depart Linebacker Bryan Cox signed earlier with the Bears. The Eagles put $9 million in the first two seasons ofVincent’s five-year. $16.5-miHk>n offer. Their perception was that die Dolphins had unlimit­ ed cash but limited cap room. Thus, the team would have to create cap room to retain Vin­ cent More botes: Defensive end also could become a worry. Marco Coleman likely will leave, al­ though he is a transition player. The team has been negotiating a contract for Coleman worth far less on a yearly basis than the $2.8million transition tender it made. The Charg­ ers have been eager to sign Coleman to an of­ fer sheet and if they do. don't expect the Dol­ phins to match.

— AMUSO SlLfiOBtO

NBY ENGLAND PATRIOTS With Bill B e lichick on board as as­ sistant head coach, ex­ pect the defense to switch from a 3-4 to a 43 set. At the end of the season. Bill Parcells said he was going to consider the switch, and Beiichick’s arrival may hasten the move. When Belichick left the Giants to take over the Browns, he imple­ mented the 4-3 with considerable success. Be­ lichick pointed out that while there have been discussions about either switching or incor­ porating some aspects of both, no decision has been made. ‘W e’ve talked a lot about what it takes to play defense in the NFL in

What*3 my line? To be more attractive to Steel­ ed free-agent quarter­ .J e t s ly back Ned O’Donnell, the team has revamped •*- J its offensive line, it signed Giants left tackle Jumbo Elliott and for­ mer Oilers right tackle David Williams, tak­ ing care of two problem spots. Elliott’s fiveyear. $14.8-miIlion deal, includes a $4-million signing bonus. ... Speaking to reporters last week, O’Donnell referred to the Steelers in the past tense and, in one instance, using “we" for the Jets. That's what you call vintage free-agent posturing.

Pa| p te By signing Elliott and Williams, and re-signing defensive end Marvin Washington.

Owner Leon Hess paid $10 million in signing bonuses. Gub officials can afford to spend big bucks because all of their starters are locked up for 19%.... If the team signs O'Donnell, it won’t have enough cap room to acquire a top­ flight receiver. Not to worry. It probably will draft Southern California’s Keyshawn John­ son with the No. I overall pick.... With sec­ ond-year lineman Matt OT>wyer expected to start at left guard, the team can’t offer ’95 starter Roger Duffy an attractive deal. The Dolphins, Colts and Cardinals are interested in Duffy.

— fins Com

OAKLAND RAIDERS Raiding Dallas: By sign­ ing free agents Larry Brown and Russell Maryland, the team strengthened its defense and served notice that few jobs are secure heading into the season.

Brown will replace Albert Lewis at one cor­ nerback spot sending Lewis to the bench or to safety. Maryland’s arrival means less play­ ing time for Jerry B a ll whose weight prob­ lems irritated coaches late last season. Mary­ land and massive Chester McGlockton will give the team one of the league's top tandems at defensive tackle. They also should divert at­ tention away from defensive end Pat Swilling, the team’s premier pass rusher.... Offensive tackle Greg Skrepenak signed with the Pan­ thers, increasing the need to retain Gerald Perry, a transition player.

The OB question: As Jeff Hostetler prepared to visit Philadelphia, the Raiders expressed in­ terest in Falcons quarterback and transition player Jeff George. The Raiders have the right to match any offer to Hostetler, who also fig­ ures to draw interest from the Steelers if Neil O'Donnell leaves. Hostetler may not want to return, in part because quarterbacks coach Jim Passel left to become the Cardinals’ of­ fensive coordinator.

— t o KfiOttffCX

i

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

Another hole: After los­ ing free-agent tackle Leon Searcy to the Jaguars, the team is wor­ ried about losing anoth­ er player on its offensive line. Left guard Tom Newberry. 33. has indi­ cated he might retire. Newberry, a 10-year vet­ eran. was nagged by a back injury for most of last season. If he retires, more holes will have to be plugged. Justin Strzelczyk. who split time with Newberry, will be shifted back to his old position, right tackle, to replace Searcy.

That leaves James Parrish and Ariel Solomon, an unrestricted free agent, as backups. The good news, however, is that Newberry's retirement would free up $425,000 under the salary cap.

Tender a m : An offer has been tendered to wide receiver Andre Hastings, who is a restricted free Hastings agent, to protect the team in the event Hastings gets an offer from another team. The team does not want to lose Hast­ ings. because two of its other wide receivers.

Charles Johnson and Ernie Mills, will be com­ ing back after severe injuries.... Quarterback Neil O’Donnell will continue to visit other teams in an attempt to get Pittsburgh to enrich its four-year, $12.4-million offer. O'Donnell is looking for a contract that will average -$3.6 million annually. *—GERRY Duuc

Salisbury’s stake: Free agent Scan Salisbury has signed as the No ’J quarterback In 1994. he cho^e the Oilers over the Chargers I neasy in the run-and-shooi. Salis­ bury was cut and moved to the Vikings. He was idle in 1995 While Salisbury fidgeted, :san Diego reached the sujx-r Bowl and also made the piavoffs in '95 “You make mistake's you regret.” vay^ Salisbury, about to turn 3.3 Hr blundered last year, thinking he was worth more than salary-capconscious teams did Reunion: When Dolphin'* tree agent Marco Coleman visited in late February, introduction-* didn't take long The defensive end played for Bobby Ross and new defensive-line coach Brian Baker at (Georgia Tech Coleman (6; sacks last season) could com­ pensate for the inevitable loss ol leslie O'Neal. But prying Coleman, a transi­ tion player, from Miami might be difficult. The Dolphins fear losing another defensive starter after linebacker Bryan Cox signed with the Bears. Still, the Chargers have a chance to land Coleman, considering that Dolphins corner­ back Troy Vincent also is a transition player and Miami might not have enough money under the cap to keep both. Vincent has signed r n an offer sheet with the Eagles. — J ay PAWS

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19% and about the different (offenses) well be facing." Belichick says. "But we haven't made any decisions. Teams have been suc­ cessful with both."

Ho-hum: The club has taken a low-key ap­ proach to the start of free agency. The team is trying to sign defensive tackle Mark Wheeler. According to Kennard McGuire.

Wheeler’s agent. Parceils told him that Wheeler was one ofbnly two defensive line­ men the club was considering. The front of­ fice also has contacted the agents for free agent receivers Fred Barnett and Keenan McCardell.

— KEYT! MAMIX

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Hurvin M cCormack — as well as ends Shame Carver and O scar Sturgis. The starting line­ backers — Dixon Edwards, Darrin Smith and Robert Jones — are in som e form of free agency', so Bates could have his hands full de­ veloping ro o k ie^ and inexperienced free agents. & -C hipping m y : Edwards visited the Vikings, l i ­ ons, Jaguars, and Falcons and Jones had trips planned to the Rams and Chargers. Smith is a restricted free agent... Now that he has shelved baseball for *96. Deion Sanders wiU devote most of the offseason and training c a n y to working at wide receiver.

—M OET S M M U

SEATTLE St.AH.AWKS ContiogttJcy plan: The team is m aking plans should it lose left offen­ sive tackle Ray Roberts to free agene)'. The strategy would be to keep Jam es Atkins at left tackle and find a power-blocking guard. Derrick Graham, a tackle recently released by the Panthers, ap­ pears to be the leading candidate. Offensive line coach Howard Mudd broke Graham into the league as a tackle with the Chiefs in 1990.

Because M udd loves to play a big line that converts tackles into guards for power block­ ing. G raham , who is 6-4 and 315 pounds. would give the team the versatility Mudd likes. The Seahawks also re-signed Todd Nor­ man. who was groomed on the practice squad last season.

Tight money: Without any season-ticket money in the vaults because of Ken B ehring’s planned move to Anaheim, its remarkable the Seahawks have been able to re-sign five play­ ers. including halfback Chris W arren, line­ backer Dean Wells and defensive end Michael Sinclair, as well as add free safety Darryl Williams from the Bengals. But the tight mon­ ey problem s came into play in the effort to ac­ quire defensive tackle Russell Maryland, now a Raider.

— JQH* C u m *

.ARIZONA CARDINALS Latest line: One of Coach Ainee Tobin's main objectives during ll free agency is renovat­ ing one of the NFL's worst offensive lines.

The first unrestricted free agents brought in by the Cardinals w ere Lions Pro Bow) left tackle Lomas Brown and Jets g u a rd /c e n te r Roger Duffy. D espite the presence of some youth and ability there the past few years, the line was a disaster area under form er coach Buddv Ryan. In addition to the tact that the team has no proven left tackle or center un­ der contract, left guard Duval Love was a dis­ appointm ent in 1995 and there are big ques­ tion m arks at right guard and right tackle if the Cardinals sign a left tackle, they still could take C C U tackle Jonathan Ogden with the third pick in the draff or decide to trade down for extra picks.

And th a t’s not a l l . . . : In addition to the line.

Tobin says he would like to improve the situ­ ation at tight end. add a fullback and possibly bring in a free-agent quarterback to compete with veteran Dave K neg Tobin says K neg played fairly well under difficult circumd a n c e s in 1993 and that he could live with him as the teacup starling quarterback again *

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— K e n t S o m e rs

ATLANTA FALCONS Stoppers sought: The team is pursuing only defensive free agents during the early weeks of the signing period.

The team 's goal is to re­ tain its own free agents on offense, plus defen­ sive ends C hris Doleman and C huck Smith. and then upgrade the defense with one or two key acquisitions. With Doleman a n d Smith at-

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DETROIT LIONS ta I

Standing p a t T he club didn’t get the player it § wanted, but it didn’t lose any ground. One day af­ te r being snubbed by s £ D olphins cornerback Troy V incent the Lions re-signed cornerback Corey Raymond to a three-year. $4.5-million Sri (ming and Bearing I t The always controversial Cor has several m illion reasons to keep Bears contract. The team thought it was close to an Chairman Ed McCaskey (left) and Chicago fans in a happy mood. offer sheet (five years, $15 million) with Vin­ c e n t a transition player. But Vincent appar­ trad in g in terest the Falcons m ost likely will ently was using the Lions to drive up the price concentrate on them before making any ma­ in Philadelphia, w here he signed an offer jor investm ents in outside ta le n t.... The de­ s h e e t... Because the Lions were willing to pay fense will have at least two new starters, as Open f a u lt After leaving Vincent so much, they believed they wouldn’t safety Kerin Ross and linebacker Darryl Tal­ $2.2 million of its cap have enough to sign left tackle Lomas Brown. ley were released, if a replacem ent for Ross money unspent the past But they might have m oney for Brown now. isn’t signed. Devin Bush could move from free two years, the team In case Brown doesn’t com e back, the Lions safety to strong safety, with Roger Harper re­ stepped out by spending have talked to free agents Richard Cooper claiming the job at free safety. $25.2 million in three (Saints). Harry Swavne (C hargers) and Ray Right chemistry: By re-signing center Roman dav^s. Linebacker Bryan Roberts (Seahawks).

Fortin to a four-vear deal, the team virtually asCox w-as the first free Planning ahead: With Brett Perrim an in the fi­ sured itself of keeping the starting line intact agency buy. T he team then swallowed hard nal year of his c o n tra c t the team is trying to Only guard Robbie Tobeck. an exclusiveand m atched the Jaguars’ four-year. $12-milrights free agent, isn’t under c o n tra c t ... In­ lion offer sheet to defensive end Alonzo Spell­ prepare for his departure. T he S teelers’ .An­ side pass-rushing specialist Jumpy G eathers man. With Cox. tackle Jim Flanigan and Spell­ dre H astings and the B uccaneers’ Courtney Hawkins have visited. ... Looking to add joined Ross and Talley on the waiver wire. man. the team has three pass-rushing threats Ross and G eathers were productive in 1995. for the first time since 1990. Spellman will re­ speed at linebacker, the team brought in the Cow boys’ Dixon Edw ards. T he Cowboys’ bul in releasing those two. Coach June Jones turn to his preferred position, right end. and purged the locker room of the two most neg­ John Thierry and .Albert Fontenot will alter­ Darrin Smith, a restricted free a g e n t also has — TOM KOWALSKI appeal. ative influences remaining after Andre Rison’s nate at left end. In nickel situations. Spellman departure.

— T i m FABRIZIO will move to right tackle, and Cox will line up on the right side of the line and rush from the outside.

Tillman t e a m : Running back Lewis Tillman Middle ground: T he team was released to free cap money. A popular, .lost out on inside line­ Fast s t a r t For the sec­ consum m ate pro and a mentor f rr rookie backer Bryan Cox. but Rashaan Salaam. Tillman was offered a mod­ ond consecutive vear.

G eneral M anager Ron est contract to stay. But with four backs ahead the team wasted no time Wolf says there are oth­ of him. he preferred to look elsew here.... Of­ m aking moves. In the er players of g reater in­ fensive line bust M arcus Spears, the 1994 No. first five days of the freeterest. Wolf did not 2 pick who has yet to play a down. will play in agent signing period. name nam es, but an ed­ the World League for som e experience. ... three kev need areas linebacker Bam- M inter agreed to a two-year ucated guess would put the Bills’ Cornelius were addressed with the contract.

— JOH* M in i/* Bennett, the Lions’ C hris Spielman and the signing of 49ers .All-Pro cornerback Eric Davis Vikings’ jack Del Rio as short-list targets to (4 years. SII.4 million). Saints tight end W es­ improve the team in th£ middle. Wolf says the ley Walls (3 years. $4 million) and Raiders of­ team did not make a mistake by failing to con­ fensive tackle Greg Skrepenak (4 years. $7.65 tact Cox right away. Cox had scheduled visits million). Interest is still big in Bills linebacker lo the Rams. Jaguars and C hargers, but he C o rn eliu s Bennett and in adding a wide Coach It up: T he team, signed with the Bears before m aking any of receiver, possibly Baltim ore’s Keenan responding to free-ageni losses and the salary* them. The team also had hoped to talk to Tam­ McCardell.... Keep a close eye on what hap­ cap. hired three new de­ pa B ays Hardy Nickerson, but he re-signed pens with running back Derrick M oore. An early attempt was made to re-sign him. then fensive coaches — hop­ with the Buccaneers.

Wide o u t It appears the team will not re-sign talks broke down Negotiations could resum e ing an em phasis on soon, however, because the team needs help teaching will help sever­ hideout Mark Ingram. With .Antonio Freeman at running back and th ere's not much else al young players im­ coming off a promising rookie season, it’s un­ likely Ingram would start a g ain .... Nose tack­ prove quickly. Jim Bates will coach the lints available in free agene)'. le John ju rk o ric is almost recovered from a Winning the toss: The team is now 2 for 2 in backers, and the defensive line chores will be tom medial collateral ligament and will start draft-related coin flips. The franchise will pick split between Craig Boller and Tommy Hart. making visits M arch 20. Ju rk o ric wants to Boller is the new defensive line coach and will eighth in the NFL draft, having won the toss make sure h e ’s in top condition before any au­ with the O ilers in a conference call with I focus on the defensive tackles. Hart, who ditions. ... Charles jordan figures to be a pop­ league officials after General M anager Bill Eo­ coached Charles Haley in San Francisco, will handle the defensive ends. .After losing Rus­ ular free agent. Jordan is a speedy return man lian called “heads." A year ago. the team won and improving receiver. The team can match sell M aryland to Oakland, the Cowboys want a flip with the Jaguars for the first pick in the • anv offers.

— Tom SttraSTH* to develop young tackles Darren Benson and 1995 draft.

— CHARLES CHANDLER

CHICAGO BEARS

•

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GREEN BAY PACKERS

CAROLINA PANTHERS

*

DALLAS COWBOYS

»

March 4,1996

NFC • 23

Vikings had the Nj No. I defense in Ii but with the recent d e partures of middle lin e backer Jack Del Rio and end Roy Barker, every starter from that unit ex­ cept tackle John Randle is gone. That group includes coordinator Tony Dungy, linemen Chris Doleman and Henry Thomas, lineback­ ers Fred Strickland and Carlos Jenkins and d e tensive backs V en ae Glenn, Anthony Parker, Carl Lee, Todd Scott, Lamar M cG riggs and Au dray M cM illan. Among the free agents the team is trying to woo to bolster its *96 defense are linebackers Kurt Gouveia, Dixon Edwards and Keith G oganious and linem en Santana Dotson. Darren Mickell and Tony Woods.

Moos d e a r W arren M oon's acquittal on mis­ dem eanor assault charges ended a nightm ar­ ish week for him and his family. Details of the marital problem s between Moon and his wife, Felicia, were detailed in a w eeklong trial in Richmond. Texas. D uring the middle of the trial, the Vikings picked up the option on M o o n s contract for 1996 at $3.25 million.

Moon is trying to work out an extension through ’97 that would lessen the salary-cap burden for this year.

—t a i M V I

NEW OKU-;ANS SAINTS ( M i g m i I t t a ? In an active first w eek of free agency, the team lost tight end W esley Walls to Carolina, signed for­ m er Rams Clarence Jones and Fred Stokes and decided not to re­ sign right tackle Richard Cooper. T he Saints also didn’t appear to be anyw here close to re­ signing freesagent receiver Quinn Early. They had hoped to retain Walls, m atching Caroli­ na's three-year, $4-miIlion offer, but he signed with the P anthers because he didn’t want to continue to share, time with bv Smith. Jones, 27. a fiv^-year veteran with one year as a starter (1994). received a three-year. $4.01-mfllion contract as C ooper’s replacem ent. The Saints and Cooper. 31. were m ore than $2 mil­ lion apart in negotiations, so the team opted for the less-expensive Jones. Stokes, a veter­ an end who turns 32 M arch 14. was signed (three years, $ 1.875 million) to strengthen the pass rush.

Rev Port el c a b : T he right side of the line has new starters in Jones and guard Andy McCol­ lum. McCollum replaces C hris Port. released at his agent's request after being asked to re­ structure his co n tract Term inating Port from the final year of his deal saves the team $1.1 million in cap money.

— MKE S T M

NEW VORK GIANTS J k &o d ep arts T he team lost veteran left tackle Jum bo Elliott last week after a brief bidding war with the Jets. Elliott was am ong the key free agents G.M. George Young focused on re­ taining. but the price — about $3 million per season — was too high. T he left tackle job goes to fourth-year man Greg Bishop, who re­ cently signed a three-year deal. Bishop started

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES Strategic offer Team of­ ficials hope the Dolphins won’t match the fiveyear. $16.5-miUion offer sheet free-agent corner­ back Troy Vincent signed last week. Know­ ing the Dolphins have little salary-cap room, the team put $9 million in the first two years of Vincent*s deal Vincent would replace 5-foot-7 M ark M cM illan at left cornerback: 1995 second-round pick Bobby Taylor would play right cornerback. McMil­ la n , an unrestricted free agent, likely will sign elsew here. ... Linebacker Bill Romanowski signed with the Broncos. Although not flashy, he was a solid m n-defender and coverage man. Marc Woodard, 26. a reserve for two sea­ sons, is Romanowski’s expected replacem ent Middle linebacker Kurt Gouveia also is an un­ restricted free a g e n t Peete, re-PectK It appears quarterback Rod­ ney Peete will return. Peete, 29, who was 1CM as a starter last season, is expected to sign a $1.3-miIlion deal, with incentives that could kick it up to $2 million. That doesn't mean that Peete will be the starter next season. Packers free agent Ty D etm er visited the team last week. and Coach Ray Rhodes wants to talk to the Raiders’Jeff Hostetler. — PAHL OofctGVTTGH

ST.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS UM Stiff: Signing freeagent guard Ray Brown to a five-year. SlOmillion deal m eans left tackle Steve Wallace likely will leave. Early plans are to start Brown at left guard, shift Jesse Sapolu to center and use Kirk Spafford at left tackle.

Team officials say Wallace is declining, and his salary makes him vulnerable.... Right tack­ le Harris Barton signed a revised contract.

T here figures to be competition at right guard am ong D errick Deese. Rod Milstead and Chris Dalman. ... The loss of free-agent cor­ nerback Eric Davis to the Panthers increases file need for a top pass rusher. Davis was the team 's best cover man. Third-year player Tyronne Drakeford. Davis' expected rep lace ment, did not appear ready. The team is pur­ suing C h a f e r s defensive end Leslie O’Neal.

M m rn e v t Free-agent acquisition Roy Bark­ er is a run-stopper. not a pass-rusher He lik e ly will replace D ennis Brown at strongside defensive end. Brown might be traded or r e leased. ... Team officials have told wide re­ ceiver Jerry Rice they will improve his con­ tract so he m ight finish his career in San Francisco. He is signed through the 1997 sea­ son.

— I ra M a i a

Hues retain their leading tackier in each of the past three seasons. Defensive end Chidi AhanQtu also will return after signing a three-year deal. ... Starting center Tony M ayberry has been attracting interest on the free-agent front Oh m Is e n o u g h : Look for the team to match the offer sheet kicker Michael Husted signed with the 49ers simply because it doesn't want a repeat of the Steve Christie fiasco, when the kicker slipped away to Buffalo in 1992 under Plan B. The 49ers also signed special-ieams leader Curtis Buckley to an offer s h e e t.... De­ fensive tackles Santana Dotson and Mark W heeler visited several team s; look for the Bucs to try to re-sign at least one. Wide re­ ceiver Courtney Hawkins, who has visited Detroit and will visit the Jets, likely won't re­ turn.

— H ic x P ugliese

WASHINGTON REDSKINS

Tough Wow: The team en­ tered free agency hoping k to re-sign its free-agent Q starters. It succeeded in resigning offensive tack­ le Ed Simmons before the market opened, then signed receiver Henry Ellard and defensive tackle Marc Boutte within the first week. But the loss of left guard RayBrown. 33. who signed a five-year. $ 10-million contract with the 49ers. was a significant blow.

Brown's departure leaves the team thin on the offensive line For the moment. John Gesek will switch from center to left guard, and Cory Raymer. a No. 2 pick last year, moves in at cen­ ter. However, the Redskins are intent on adding a free-agent guard. Miami's Keith Sims licfcerson Is back: Less tops their wish list, which also includes Balti­ than 48 hours after visit­ m ore's Bob Dahl. Detroit's Doug Widell and Green Bav’s Ham- Galbreath. The team s ing Detroit and w-aming biggest remaining goal before the draft is to re­ that Tam pa Bay didn't sign halfback Terry .Allen. The team has the have the inside track, right to match any offers to him. middle linebacker Homecoming? Defensive tackle Jumpy Hardy N ickerson re­ signed. G.M; Rich Mc­ G eathers was scheduled to be the first freeKay upped the ante after the market was set I agent visitor. Geathers. who played in Wash*

by Bryan Cox’s deal with the Bears. Nicker­ j ington from 1990 to '92. will be 36 in June son got what he had wanted since September j However, he recorded IS > a c * K S the past two — DAVID Elfin — four years, $3.2-million average — and the I seasons for Atlanta.

©

TAMPA HAV Bl (XANEERS

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4

Eons RAMS Too tate: T he search for

an inside linebacker got off to a rocky start when Miami free agent Bryan Cox. a native of East S t Louis, 111., signed a fouryear. $ 13.2-million deal with Chicago w ithout even visiting S t Louis. It is doubtful the team would have put up Bears-like money, which in­ cluded a $5-million signing bonus, but it would have loved to have sold him on the virtues of playing in his hometown. Instead. General M anager Steve O rtm ayer ended up complain­ ing that Cox’s a g e n t Cliff Brady, who is based in Chicago, intentionally steered his client to the Bears and misled the Rams into thinking they had a chance. Brady countered by saying the team 's interest was lukewarm at b e s t ...

O ther free-agent possibilities at middle line­ backer include Philadelphia's Kurt Gouveia, D etroit’s C hris Spielman and Dallas' Robert I Jones.

Rams sooth: T w o'backups signed with New O rleans in the first week of free agency. Of­ fensive tackle Clarence Jones signed a threeHot guilty: Vikings quarterback Warren Moon hugs-his attorney. Rusty Hardin, after bang acquitted year deal worth about $4.01 million and de­ cm misdemeanor charges of assault against his wife. Felicia. fensive end Fred Stokes signed a three-year.

xssocaiio w is s

T b n there was ow : The

$ 1.875-million deal, jones, who started ail 16 gam es for the Rams in '94. figures to be the Saints’ starting right tackle.

— JIM THOMAS

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MINNESOTA VIKINGS

at left guard in 1995 after Scott Davis was lost for the season with a knee injury. T he team m ight seek a cheaper veteran as insurance.

With veterans Doug Riesenberg and Lance Smith at right tackle and guard, respectively, the line is due for rebuilding.... Talks intensi­ fied last week with free-agent quarterback Dave Brown. His agent says other team s have expressed interest but that Brown would like to remain a G iant The club has few other op­ tions at the position.

Hampton to tin g : Rodney Hampton was sched­ uled to visit this week with the 49ers. who are interested despite his transition status.... With Mike Sherrard not expected back, the team has contacted several free-agent receivers, in­ cluding Irving Frvar, Fred Barnett and Mark Ingram.

■ -UBL BEST

S U R G E O N G E N E R A L ’S W A R N I N G : S mo k i n g C a u s e s Lung C a n c e r, H eart D is e a s e , Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy.

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26 • NBA

The Sporting News

It hasn’t been too much too soon for Kevin Garnett, whose package of magical talent and unbridled enthusiasm has the Timberwolves smiling self to do it by playing basketball as he had in high school, with almost unparalleled exu­ berance and joy. he Target Center, down­ The unlikely alarm clock struck again last town M inneapolis. No­ week against Houston. During a two-minute vem ber 28. J 995: The stretch of the fourth quarter in a 120-101 vic­ Minnesota Timberwolves. tory over the Rockets. G arnett scored nine 2-9. host the Vancouver straight points, grabbed two rebounds and Grizzlies. On this T ues­ blocked two shots to turn a tight gam e into a day night, the crowd is blowout. He finished with 17 points, 12 re­ small, with nary a televithree blocks. sion cam era in sight. This isbounds not theand glam­ T h e first time I saw him work out I orous side of the NBA. thought he had a chance to be g re a t" Coach From the beginning, the Wolves seem Flip Saunders says. “W hat he’s done so far is lethargic, like five men sleepwalking. They shorten the gap between his potential lead by tour at the end of the first quar­ and where h e ’s a t" ter because the Grizzlies play like Currently. G arnett is keeping an expansion team that has lost 11 heady company. Depending on games in a row. Which they are. w here you put Shawn Kemp, A minute and a half into the G arnett is. of course, either second quarter, the NBAs the first or second player in youngest player grabs a de­ 20 years to jum p from high fensive rebound, throw s a school to the NBA Before the quick outlet pass and sprints season, there was considerable upcourt — he ru n s like a speculation w hether he could gazelle, with long, loping strides survive the rigors and temptations that m ake him deceptively fast. of NBA life, and 'w hether the Wolves.

•Kevin (ja rnett catches a pass above the with their history of futility and dissension, 3-pomt line, stops and shoots without hesitat­ would drag him down. Critics said he was ing. As the ball falls cleanly through the hoop. overhyped and im m ature, that the Wolves he shuffles backward, pausing for a moment would have to coddle him. that he'd be lost in near center court. He is a striking figure: thin the complex NBA game. as a reed, with long, long arm s and baggy To be lair. he's not going to win the Rookie shorts that droop to his knees leaning back­ of the Year award. .Aid surely he’d be a better ward. with arm s at his sides, he looks at the player with two years of college ball behind ceiling and rocks gently from side to side him. But th a ts like saying hell be older in two And he howls with glee. G arnett's smile years, and college wasn’t one of his options. could illuminate a moonless night. While he Indeed G arnett has played with such veils, the crowd roars com posur *. enthusiasm and raw skill that T here s a lot of basketball still to play, and those earlier questions seem, if not irrelevant for a time the Grizzlies make it a close game, — the Wolves’ losing (they won 15 of their but Garnett has changed the game Tile Tim­ first SI this season) and bickering might berwolves are awake swallow anyone — at least incomplete. Many They win. 121-98 — the franchise < biggest oi those who watched this team carefully margin of victor) in almost three years were asking other questions as wetf. Could i*. s«een in context, ii was a rem arkable dis­ play. for at )y. Jes'- man six m onths removed Garnett lift the Tim berw olves emotionally if from high school, I »arnett already had begun not physically' How good will he be? .Aid to realize he had the pow-er to stir this enig­ how fast will his star rise? For even among matic team, which often seem s lo be less than the world’s best players. G arnett’* talent and the sum of its parts .Aid he had the sense of on-court charism a are glaring.

B y F ran k C lancy

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#

“He has great instincts, and it looksiike he has great passion for the gam e." says Tony DiLeo. the 76ers’ director of scouting. T h o s e are two ingredients for being a great player.

He can score around the basket. He can go outside and hit a jum p s h o t He can block shots. He’s definitely special — for a high school player to step into the NBA and do a lot of good things on the court, he has to be.

He just has to wait for his body to catch up."

He just has to wait for his body has to catch up. T h at’s the sort of caveat often used to tem per praise of G a rn e tt w hose 220 pounds are spread over 83 inches. Obviously, no one

knows when his body wfl] m ature or what he will look like. He still may be growing. As a re su lt he is in some ways a man without a po­ sition: a power forward in h e ig h t a small for­ ward in bulk.

But no one questions the sheer joy Garnett derives from the game. His exuberance and smile remind many of an NBA superstar who recently returned. Says Sean Rooks, the Wolves’ form er backup center who recently was traded: “His enthusiasm toward the gam e is som ething special. He gets pleasure out of playing. It’s kind of like when Magic came in. I hope it stays with him a long time."

N M '2 7

March 4,1996

d r o v e r — fr o m t h e N e w Y o r k T i m e s .

N e w s w e e k . I ' S A T o d a y . C N N . S p in an d dai­ ly p a p e r s a c r o s s th e c o u n t r y — a s k i n g m a n y ju s t o n e w h o h a s d e v o te d h i s life to a of th e sa m e q u e s tio n s. W h a t h a s b e e n th e g a m e th a t r u t h l e s s l y p u n i s h e s in t r o ­ s p e c t i o n . C a n h e te ll u s w h y t h e g a bmi ge g e s t a d ju s t m e n t ? ( C h a s i n g little g u y s on d e f e n s e . ) W h a t d o e s h e d o o n th e r o a d 5 b r i n g s h im jo y . w h at d r iv e s h im . w h at h e is ( S t a y in th e h o t e l r o o m a n d play S e g a . ) afraid of? W ill h e ? It m a y n o t b e p o s s i b l e fo r W h a t h a s h e b o u g h t ? (A L e x u s an d L and o n e s o y o u n g to e x p l a i n : c e r t a i n l y G a r n e t t R o v e r, h e 's b u y in g a h o u s e .) k n o w s t h e r e a r e t h i n g s h e c a n 't e x p la in . In lf G a r n e t t h a s s t r u g g l e d with any p a r t o f r e s p o n s e to a q u e s t i o n , h e s o m e t i m e s

tio n s th at s e e m e d to im ply h e c o u id n 't ta k e : c a r e of h im s e lf: I saw h im lau g h at a radio r e ­

n o u n c in g . in je s t , th a t h e h ad c h a n g e d h i " n a m e to " I ) a K id " fa n i c k n a m e fro m h t" n io r y e a r of h ig h s c h o o l in C h ic a g o ) I>a Kid n e v e r w a n te d to d o it t hi s way S u r e , h e d r e a m e d of playin g in th e N B A . but

p o r t e r fis h in g for a s o u n d b ite , h ad h im r e ­ b u ff a s y m p a t h e t ic c o m m e n t ab o u t a f r i e n d s

in h is d r e a m s h e to o k th e c o n v e n tio n a l ro u te h ig h s c h o o l. a c o ll e g e s c h o la r s h ip , th e NT AA

d e a th . H e w a s n o t su rly , ju s t g u a r d e d . By m id - F e b r u a r y , th o u g h , ev e n th is had b e g u n

T o u r n a m e n t , th e d raft, l f h e w a s d iffe r e n t from t h o u s a n d s o: o t h e r k id s with th e iderwr' c a l d r e a m , it w a s in h o w s y s t e m a t i c a l ly h e

an a 19 -y ear-o ld e x p la in h i m s e l f ? B y t h i s I m e a n a n y 19 -y e a r-o ld . an d not

C

s h r u g s h i s s h o u l d e r s and s a y s . T m d i f f e r ­ e n t f r o m m o s t 1 9 - y e a r - o ld s ." B u t t i m e and a g a in , r e p o r t e r s h a v e a s k e d h im to d o e x ­ a c tly th a t: e x p la in h im s e lf . T h e y 'v e c o m e in

;

,

h is leap to th e N B A . it h a s b e e n with th e m e ­ d ia a tte n tio n . E v e n b e f o r e t h e r e g u la r s e a s o n h ad b e g u n , h e told a local T V s ta tio n th a t h e w as tired o f th e m e d ia and didn't w ant to talk

i

to r e p o r t e r s .

At tim e s h e c r in g e d visibly w h e n a s k e d to do yet a n o t h e r in terv ie w . H e b ris tle d at q u e s ­

to c h a n g e . .After th e W o lv es p u s h e d th e roadw e a r y C h i c a g o B u lls b e f o r e lo s in g . 1 0 3 -1 0 0

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p u rsu ed it: H e w as b a re ly a t e e n a g e r w h en h r

and

b e g a n s tu d y in g ta p e s o f N B A p la y e rs , e s p e ­

s c o r e d 16 p o in ts ), h e w a s a lm o s t jovial in th e l o c k e r r o o m , s ta n d in g on a c h a i r an d an­

cially M a g ic J o h n s o n , in o r d e r lo le a rn . T h e n h e 'd g o p r a c tic e with h is friend J a i m e P e t e r s .

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28 • NBA

The Sporting News t Cl

‘He’s been blessed with a terrible thing — potential,’ says Kevin Mc boner known as “Bus " Of course. Garnett also had talent — what his mother. Shirley Irby, calls "a blessing from Jehovah." And at IS. he was 6*7.

He also had Duke Fisher. A tall, gruff and affectionate southerner. Fisher stresses fun­ damentals as coach of the high schc^1 team in Mauldin. S.C.. a middle-class suburb of Greenville. S.C. Timber wolves' Vice lYesident Kevin Mc Halo says Garnett showed up in training camp knowing far more than they'd expected. “Someone worked with this kid earlier in his career'and taught him the V eal basics of how to play." he says.

Kudos to Fisher. But Garnett also had an intuitive feel tor the game, a sense of flow and selflessness, that predated his association with Fisher. Even at 15. Fisher remembers.

Garnett saw things that other players did not. .And he loved to pass. "He didn't care who scored." Fisher says T h a t is the truth The only thing he hated was to lost*."

Mauldin went 22-7 during Garnett’s junior season. He averaged 27 points. 17 rebounds and 7 blocks and was wooed by many colleges.

Garnett had moved to Mauldin (pop.

11.500) in the sixth grade with his mother, stepfather and two sisters, because Shirley Irby wanted a safe place to raise her children.

They lived in a quiet neighborhood full of modest ranch-stvle brick homes with tiny front porches. Bug lived across the street Garnett's father lived elsewhere; he sent sup­ port checks, but visited only sporadically, less often as Garnett grew older. His absence.

Irby believes, was a powerful influence on her son’s life. Garnett was onlv 5 when she remarried, but he never got along with his stepfather. Basketball was his escape.

But Mauldin's “safe" appeal became, for G arnett its flaw. It is a sleepy place, with no downtown and no street life; its highway shopping strip is lined with fast-food outlets. car dealers, liquor stores, gas stations and lit­ tle else.

Off the court. Garnett was not nearly so disciplined as he was in the gym. In class, he was distracted easily; basketball called him like a siren after school, away from home­ work. He struggled most in courses that re­ quired lots of reading. Outside school, Gar­ nett sa vs. » he was wild. in the wav• many¥ suburban teenagers are wild. He says he didn't drink or take drugs; he snuck out. stayed out late and engaged in petty vandalism. His mother worried about him.

- His mother's worries became reality in what Garnett calls “the incident in Mauldin": In May 1994. when he was finishing his junior year, a student was beaten inside the high school. The victim was white, his assailants 'black, and the truth became entangled in matters of race — some said the white kid was a troublemaker who’d taunted black stu­ dents and even called them "niggers." while others said the beating w-as unprovoked. The bottom line: The kid got hurt. Garnett and „ lour others got blamed. Police arrested him and charged him with second-degree I's-nchmg Hi* arrest made headlines in the Greenville News and other local papers Though Garnett proclaimed his innocence. at home he was distraught and worried that the dozens of college coaches who had writhim would lose their ardor But he never had been in trouble and qualified for pretrial intervention. His record was expunged. He says he learned two crucial lessons. The first was about friendship and the nature of fame. even on so small a scale as Mauldin. “At the

calls. T h a t hurt him deeply. It was one of the most horrible experiences a young man can go through." But her son. she quickly adds, is resilient Come June, he had one more realis­ tic choice than most athletes who fail their col­ lege boards. He could declare for the NBA draft.

mall hints that Garnett left high school months ago: His playfulness in the locker room: the flowery writing on his shoes that honors the people and places in his life — “Chi-town." “Spri field Park," “Ashley" (his younger sister).

“Bug." “Da Kid"; the rubber bands on his wrists, for luck.

Bigger signs of Garnett's talent: At home against Philadelphia, he throws a perfect alley-oop pass from out of bounds to forward Tom Gugliotta, who arrives at the same time as the ball and banks it softly off the glass....

Against Houston, he grabs an offensive re­ bound and flips a pass through two defend­ ers to Sean Rooks, who dunks.... In Oakland. he throws a no-look shovel pass to a player standing behind him. ... Al home against Chicago, he grabs 15 rebounds, eight in the fourth quarter of a close game.

Garnett's scoring has been the most in­ consistent part of his game, but he has an ar­ ray of shots that wfl] improve with time. Play­ ing the wing for the first tune in his life, he has vastly improved his defense. (Undoubt­ edly his biggest adjustment to the NBA, he says, is chasing Tittle guys" like Glen Rice through and around picks.) Garnett has rarely, if ever, lost his composure, and does small things usually expected of veterans, such as calming angry teammates. He works hard and seems to learn quickly.

As revealing as Garnett's enthusiasm are the things that get him excited “He gets as much pleasure from passing as he does from scoring," Rooks says. Adds Kevin McHale: “He is a tremendously unselfish kid. Maybe to a fault We say to him, ‘Sometimes, Kevin, if you have a mismatch, we need you to go ahead and take your guy.’ That'll come. I couldn’t be happier with what Kevin’s done."

There are negatives, of course. Garnett has made rookie mistakes. Playing small forward, he has struggled offensively when he has had the ball on the wing and tried to create his own sh o t He guards players several inches shorter, and quicker, but on offense he can’t always take advantage of his height because he isn’t strong enough lo get position inside and finish. A telling stat In Garnett’s first 48 games, he shot just 66 free throws.

So how good will Garnett be? And when?

Some scouts think hell make the All-Star team faster than Kemp, who was chosen in his fourth season. McHale won’t answer such questions directiy. “He’s been blessed with a terrible thing — potential." McHale says. “A lot of guys have 'potential’ written on their gravestones. Spent their whole life with that potential The thing about potential is, you’ve got to realize it lf you don’t, you’re a wash.

You could have a very good NBA career, but with the potential he has, you would be clas­ sified as a washout He’s a kid who has to live up to that potential. I think he will."

Garnett expects eventually to shoulder that responsibility and lead his team to a title. “I want to be known as the man that led them to the dance," he says. “I think every player in the league wants that — to be labeled as the man that brought us to the dance and was

S

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AAntatag M s Garnett’s mother, Shirley Irby, will tell you Garnett is 'a ingfrom Jehovah, ’ But at Z/V* f her. onetime during his youth, she didn't think he was going to get his life tog time I thought I had amps of friends." he The second lesson was about responsibili­ ty. T m a wiser Kevin, a smarter Kevin, a more says. “I though! everybody was my boy. mature Kevin." Garnett says. His voice is soft When you get in trouble, or you go broke, that's when you find out who your boys are.

He seems relieved, as though unburdened of You know what Trn saying?" his own wildness. “After the incident hap­ Garnett and I were sitting across from pened. I calmed myself. I settled myself. It was each other in the Wolves' locker room. He a wake-up call. You know what Trn saying?"

Garnett and his mother didn’t like how pretended to put on a mask. then slip it off. ‘'When you get in trouble, you see all the school administrators handled the incident

By September, they’d masks cqime off. You've got something like bas­ moved to Chicago, where ketball or a nice job. peo­ Garnett knew the coach and star at Farragut Acad­ ple always want to be around you. Once you emy. a public school on mess up? They're gone. the West Side. It was a Because they're fronts. A world away from Maul­ lot of fronts out there, din, in a neighborhood plagued by drugs, gangs man — that’s what I and crime: If ever he learned." needed more motivation Some friends. of course, stuck by him: to work at basketball, this They didn't wear masks. was it Once again, bas­ Bug was the rock — the ketball was his escape. On one Garnett had known the co u rt he flourished. since he moved to Maul­ But in school, the story din. the one who poured was similar, as Garnett encouragement like an failed several times to elixir into his brain, who score high enough on his gave him "all kinds of college entrance exams. crazy confidence." the Once again, a young one he'd 'bring to Min­ m ans private failure be­ neapolis after the NBA Make way: Diaries is in charge now. came public knowledge. draft. but the future is Garnett’s, T h a t hurt Kevin," Irby re­

SBA* g

March 4. 1996

still dancin’ (al the end)

e l u d e s m a n y a t h l e t e s T h e o n l y ( m u g vim e a r n in t h i s l e a g u e is r e s p e c t , an d that 'n rnu n iv t h in g m a t lasts." M c H a le Says “You -m o

that bv w in n in g That kid w a n t s r e s p e c t M o n he Tim berw olves locker room, the e y c o m e s an d g o e s R e s p e c t la s t s a lii'etim* day after a bitter loss lo Denver.

H e 's g o t th e r ig h t a ttitu d e H e w a n t s r e s p e c t Kevin G arnett sits on a chair in front ot his locker, hunched over so that he's nearly my height, ifs my turn to seek ex­ planations n s id e th e Target C e n te r again, o n a bittern In the three m onths Tve been following the co ld w inter nigh t, th e nigh t of M a g ic lo o n Timberwolves. our paths have crossed many s o r t - retu rn to t h e S B A an d Witt, M u, tim es, from Vancouver and Sacram ento to n e s o ta c a u g h t in a th r e e -g a m e lo sin g sk id Charlotte and Mauldin. (I was watching prac­ R ip l a u n d e r s h a s j u g g le d th e s ta r tin g lin e u p tice when he visited Duke Fisher. They and in s e r te d K evin G arn ett at sm all forw ard, ft ^ hugged.) G arnett knows me by sight if not th e s e c o n d start o f h is S B A career, t h e rirst at I name, and we have a cordial relationship, but h o m e . T h e o p p o n e n t i- th*chat with two boys and tousle he chooses to talk here. after practice, rather N u ggets. their hair before giving each than in a more private setting. Before we sat G arn ett u m p -* e m ir ; a pair of shoes.

You glimpse down. he warned me he had only IO minutes. a g a in st M u to m b o C a n io n his ability to laugh at himself Though distracted at first — he fills out a c o n t r o l s t h e la p U n n« he even m akes a joking team survey while talking — G arnett soon fo­ I le n se , he gu a rd s b o sh oot reference to his academic cuses on the conversation. The locker room is in g g u a r d B r y a n t S tilh ll noisy, his voice is soft, at tim es barely audible I woes with Wolves’ Owner c l o s e g a m e , w ith n o t e a m Glen Taylor.

Night in and in the din. and he leans forward, with elbows l e a d in g by m o r e th an s e v e n night out, you see him ask re­ on his knees, to m ake him self heard. He is G a r n e t t s h o w s f l a s h e s ot porters not to inconvenience thoughtful if not articulate, considerate and b r i l l i a n c e ’ a t o u c h p a s s rn his Jocker-room neighbors. extrem ely polite. At tim es he draws absent­ S a m M it c h e ll c u t t i n g to th e You glim pse obliquely, mindedly with a ballpoint pen on the inside of b a s k e t for a la v u p : a -'hor* too. the pressure of public his forearm . He seem s relaxed and eager to j u m p h o o k o v e r M u t o m b o . .1 life: When a photographer be understood — ‘'You know what Frn s a y in g b l o c k e d s h o t o n w h i c h ti* waits near G arnett's m other r e c o v e r s t h e bali ^Arter , he says often, a verbal tic that I think speaks outside the Wolves’ locker volumes. He talks for m ore than an hour, with r o u g h first q u a r t e r h e p la y s room. hoping to take a can­ no sign of im patience, and answ ers every d ecen t d efen se did photo of them together.

G a r n e tt t a k e s o n ly six question I pose.

G arnett walks right past her.

But in many ways it does not help G arnett to s h o t s ; for now . h e is a roit G arnett seem s to get speak candidly about his experiences, for any p la y e r In t h e last tw o m in ­ along with most of his team­ admission of turmoil might appear to signal u t e s . G a r n e tt g r a b s tw o k e \ mates. who seem to want weakness, and weakness might be exploited. r e b o u n d s and m a k e s a lavup him to succeed and some­ Only once, when I ask about a loss to Golden H e f i n i s h e s w ith tour poin t tim es look after him like a a n d l l r e b o u n d s ( l o in m e State in January, does he hint at how emotion­ younger brother. Except s e c o n d h a lf), t h r e e b l o c k e d ally difficult his leap m ust be. in that game, the Christian Laettner.-who dis­ s h o t s and d i n t * a s s i s t s Wolves were losing by one in overtime when pleased team m ates and Gugiiotta threw the ball to G arnett on the left M u tom b o. how ever, d om coaches by publicly criticiz­ m a te s the g a m e baseline. 11 teet from the b ask et Two seconde ing G arnett and was recently liv e ly , b i l k i n g n in e s h o t remained on the clock. He shot an airball. a n d M a h m o u d Ar>dui-R«ui' G arnett waits a long time before respond­ I traded to Atlanta with Sean Rooks. The deal signaled the ing. In his eyes I see an unmistakable sadness. s c o r e s LM p o i n t s , in c lu d i n g Timberwolves’ com m itm ent I * in t h e s e c o n d half I Jen “Al the am e it was (disappointing).’' he says. to builc around G arnett v e r w in s .

“But I had never been in that position before. rather than Laettner.

For th e W o lv es flu on that level. I had to peel the monkey oft. I Cl all the Tim berw olves. p r o c e s s is a s b ad a - tm- . • don’t consider myself a go-to player. You can't i tarnett may be closest to the suit. In tw o ot th e ir !a-t H in control w hether the ball com es in your hands most controversial. J.R Rid­ p o s s e s s i o n s . ih e v m n ? ow I m issed the shot. The greatest miss shots, you er, the explosive shooting ball o v e r w i t h o u t .1 -!i«c know? I didn’t really think I was going to get guard who in the past has D o w n t w o w ith 14 - e c o n d the ball, but it came my way, and I wasn’t reach clashed often with m anage­ lett, t h e y h a v e n o t i m e o u t “I can't w orry about i t man. I have so much m ent In one game, after Gar­ r e m a i n i n g . and Tactilecoming at me — Shoot the ball, shoot the bail, nett had dunked at the end of . m i s s e s tw o lo n g . h u m e r i . shoot the ball. Don’t w orry about it. Shoot the a picture-perfect fast break. p o in te r s. E n t h u s i a s m an d in ball ’ I let it go. Maybe next time I stroke it.

Rider leaped into his arm s. a r a t i o n , o b v io u s ly , a r e m a Everything's not going to be roses. A lot or “T hat's my guy." Rider said enough people play the evens m ore than the odds later “I like to see him do Later, l a u n d e r - p r a i v Kids say. ‘He’s doing all rig h t It doesn’t took G a r n e tt's a ttitu d e “H e - th # well. He brings lots of emoso tough for him.' 7Tiey're playing the evens o n e g u y w h o h a s th e attitud* non to the game, and gets ex­ Protectors: M any thought Garnett would have problems mixing with older men. bu: just like seeing a movie star — every time you that w e c a n g e t it d o n e d o w n cited tor other players. When see him in the cam era, h e ’s smiling. But be­ his teammates, especially Rider, look out for him like a little brother t h e str etc h ." S a u n d e r s s a y h r does som ething good. I hind the scenes, fit’s different). Everybody who said things he did not like. This G arnett “At 19. h e ' s a lm o s t o u r l e a d e r . .. H e - o u r rn want to reward him as much as I can ' has a behind the scenes." explains well. “I'm not going to let my age ture. H e h a s to p l a y " “You draft two things in our league." McHale But 19-year-olds do not explain. Most peo­ determ ine w hether I get bullied around or In o u r in terview - t h e n e x t day. i a s k G a rn ett says “As much as you draft the player, you ple do not e x p la in . T h e y liv e t h e i r not." he says. “Just because I’m learning draft the person. T here was never a question a b o u t h i s p la n s for t h e o f f s e a s o n H e s a y s h e lives. You understand them obliquely, by how doesn't mean I'm going to lay down and bow about Kevin's physical ability. He's also a good g o i n g to play e v e r y d a y an d w o r k o n h i s g a m e they do their jobs and how they treat others. down. You’re not gonna just talk to me and person."

— o n “e v e r y t h i n g fro m t h e ju m p s h o t to t h e by how people treat them.

But G arnett suffers from the franchise’s los­ turn away. I’m still a basketball player. I'm You notice, for example, how freely Garnett c r o s s o v e r d r ib b le to w a lk in g u p t h e c o u r t “ H»still going by my playground ru les You ing. in part because he believes, like many credits his friends. (His height conceals his s e e m s im p a tie n t, lf R i p S a u n d e r s is n g h t an d know what I'm sayin’? It's a form of disre­ G a r n e tt is t h e t e a m s fu tu r e , t h a t s g o o d n e w people with the Wolves, that they should be youth. Never does he look so young as w'hen spect. I just try to let them know I'm out able to win more. h e ‘s with Bug. w ho’s as short and stocky as for T i m b e r w o l v e s fa n s w h o h a v e e n d u r e d th e Young though he is. G arnett dem ands re­ th ere playin' ball, and I'm not gonna take G arnett is tall and lean.) You watch him in t e a m s s o r r y past + none of their crap " Charlotte, where he reaches out to boys wait­ spect on the court. He has sparred verbally F r a n k C la n c y is a trep-iance writer On a deeper level, though. G arnett seem s ing shyly for him to autograph his Sports Illus­ with several players, including Dikembe Mufrom M i n n e a p o l i s to have learned a lesion aboui respect that tom bu. Cedric Cebailos and C h n s carling. trated cnvei in Minneapolis, you watch him

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wish when he was traded to Char­ lotte. That’s about as tar from New York a s you can get.

The kev 9 to the -Knicks’ ability to land a top free agent may rest with agent David Talk. Rte general feeling is Falk, who And it was all done without harming the represents several nucleus ot the squad. It was a savvy bit of ma­ big-name free neuvering by Vice President Ernie Grunield agents, has a mas­ and President Dave Checketts before last ter plan in hand. If week's trading deadline.

Falk’s idea is to But you know what? It means nothing if I £ help steer his free the Knicks get nothing this summer. Which agents to ideal situ­ raises the most important question of all: Is New York an attractive option for those who ations. then he cer­ tainly wouldn't can play anywhere thev want?

Shaun Hie Knicks think so. leave Ewing, one of POWELL his clients, high "This is the biggest market in the SBA ."

Grunted says. “The endorsement opportuni­ and dry*. Falk may. have the necessary ties are enormous tor someone with star po­ Center of attention: Ewing produces big numbers now. but he won't in three tential. .And we like to think we have a good clout for example. he city thai ai one time provided a to four years. That's a factor foryoung free agents to consider. organization and a team with a great tradi­ to help the Knicks welcome mat tor immigrants is tion." throughout the rest of this decade, especial­ I tread: help Ewing) sign Juw^an Howard. doing the same tor NBA free Grunfeld is correct on all counts. But there Howard is on record as saying he wouldn’t agents. The Knicks have become ly if. as expected, the Bulls re-sign Michael are other be intimidated by the prospect of playing for Jordan and the Magic keep Shaquilie O'Neal. the league's Ellis Island Come one. come all. reasons some may not want to play' in the citv so nice thev named it twice. the Knicks. Reggie Miller, however, has said .Also. there are the hazards many players the Knicks are saying .Any potential free agent w ill be joining a he would not want to play for the Knicks. but And take our money Please. find about playing in New York. The tabloid club without much going for it. The Knicks that sounds strange, given Miller's love of at­ media monster is often relentless and quite I V Knicks have nearly s]0 million lo are 50-something winners now. but they're tention. Gary Payton would love some expo­ sfH*nd this summer on fret* agents How they different than many players are used to in loaded with thirtysomething players, espesure after years of being tucked away in the smaller markets. Expectations in Gotham are came up with this cash is fairly remarkable. dally at key positions. Especially at center.

Pacific Northwest vet if he comes to the East Big trades were made without trading a bigalways higher. Losing is bad anywhere: in + Coast, it will probably be in Miami.

Patrick Ewing is still a warrior, still relatively name player The franchise prepared itself tor New York. its magnified. healthy and still produces big numbers on a For all of the downsizing efforts, the tomorrow without sacrificing today.

When players can sign anywhere, other nightly basis. But he is 33. and anyone who Knicks may have to settle for a pair of secondTraded were Charles Smith. Monty minor concerns, such as weather and big-city signs with the Knicks may not play next to an tier free agents, instead of signing a big one.

Williams. Herb Williams and Doug Christie lifestyle, become major factors. elite center three or four years from now-.

“W e can’t guarantee that w ell get the one — numbers eight through 11 on the depth Take Kenny .Anderson, for example. He A championship for the Knicks isn't auto­ we want." Grunfeld says. “But if we hadn’t chart — tor players whose contracts will ex­ grew up in Queens and became one of the matic. either. No matter who the Knicks sign made these moves, then we wouldn't have pire at season's end In a nutshell, the Knicks city’ s native darlings. Then he joined the this summer, there is no guarantee the the chance to get anyone." exchanged long-term contracts tor shortNets, received some bad press and couldn’t Knicks will be better than the Bulls or Magic lemi contracts. wait to flee the New York area. He got his

NBA REPORT

Big Apple losing its shine as free-agent destination

T

Privileged executive No need to cast your vole A tor rookie general manager oi tho year The Raptors' Isiah Thomas has it locked up Not only did Thomas wisely draft Damon Stoudamire. but Thomas also showed some trading sam m swapping expanN io iw ira n material tor young , talent, getting Doug Christie and Shamtu* Wright Phat* what expansion is all about — taking chances with young players and giv­ ing them room to grow and niature. instead ot winning * game" with has-beens Hie iimberwolves stuck with expansimwlratt player" in their first leu -season^ and look where they’re at today

Clyde's slide Civite Drexler's knee Mirgrn and absence tmini­ mum one month! ironi I he Rocket" may cost Houston home-vourt advantage in the playoffs Not to worry i^ist season. the Rockets set a league -econ/ (or playoff mad ucto•i«-n , - n route to their second

Around the league

A savvy G.M.: Thomas has learned how to wheel and deal

championship

He wants out Rod Strickland erupted af­ ter the Blazers fined him tor missing a weight-lifting sesNion and didn t cool off until they lacked on a suspension tor failure to appear at prac­ tice Mock land wanted out of Portland and away •from c oach PT Carlesimo before the trade deadline. He didn t get it last week. but the Blaz­ ers will likely grant him his wish. \ia trade, this summer I. arlestmo s job isn t too se­ cure. either

The Nets gambled some­ what when they allowed the trading deadline to pass with­ out signed contracts with P J. Brown and Chris Childs.

Brown will be heavily • courted by the Hornets this sum­ mer. and Childs is still smart­ ing from last fall, when he says the Nets reneged on a promise to match a lucrative offer he had overseas. ...

Four days after Michael Jor­ dan and Scottie Pippen com­ bined to score 84 points again si the Pacers, the Sixcis managed ST against Mia­ mi. ... The Hawks mac fill the hole at center — left bv .Andrew Lang's departure — through a trade with the Warriors for unhappy Rony Seikaly, who will be veryavailable this summer. ...

Charles Barkley is a big be­ liever in the Suns' chances in the playoffs. “Danny Man­ ning can make us a con­ tender." Barklev• savs.

About • (he lakers. Barklev adds: “They're more spoilers than contenders." +

Shaun Powell corers the SH A for Sewsdav.

.Inj&'cHlnstance, the traded player's replacement'tias excelled.

At Coleman’s power forward spot, Armdn GiUramhds averred 21.8 points and 10.0 rebounds'and picked tip a Player of the Week Award.W pfintA gua and

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Beginning this week, the Nets’ revival faces altern test with visits from tee Magic on ~.\ Thursday and tee Sonics on Saturday. After a gamete Dallas Tuesday,-ted N ete% ft San' Antonio March 8. Some key numbers about the'

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NBA • 31

March 4,1996

Warriors

Trading places

The skinny: They were prepared to wait until the summer

A handful of Learns underwent cosmetic surgery- during last week s trade deadline. A recap, a review and what it means for the future.

The deals: Golden State's Tim H ardaw ay a n d C hns G atling fo r M ia m i 's Kevin Willis and Bimbo Coles, Sacram ento's Walt Williams a n d Tyrone Corbin for M iam i's Billy Owens and Kevin Gamble *

THE BOOK ON...

to dump Hardaway and use his salary on someone else. But Hardaway complained his way out of town by (at mixing it up with teammate Latrell Sprewell and fb.) blasting coach Rick Adelman by calling him. among other things, a liar Coles gives the W arriors a defensive presence at point guard. W illis is merely taking up cap room until this summer, when hell be free to go

The deal: M innesota s Christian

*

Laettner and Sean Rooks for A tlanta s Andrew l/in g a n d Spud Webb,

Heat The skinny: Like the Knicks, the

Hawks

Heat dumped contracts in preparation for the summer, except The skinny: No doubt Laettner Miami did so on a larger scale. Only will help the front line, especially if .Alonzo Mourning was safe before he moves from center, the position the deadline. .And among the current he played in Minnesota, to his group of free agents on the roster, more natural power forward spot & only Mourning is guaranteed to be £ But the real fun will be watching l i P S s signed for next season. the pouty- laettner and noThe Heat will have about S IS mil­ nonsense Coach Lenny WUkens M S? ■ lion to spend, because only four Heat working together players have contracts beyond this All signs point to a friendly rela­ season. If it is possible to gut an entire tionship. mainly because laettner is team to start from scratch, the Heat c no longer in a losing atmosphere, 9 have done it. Now. the pressure is on which WUkens blames for laettLaettner will help the Hawks to sign at least another AikStar be­ ner's occasional tantrums in Min­ a n d Lenny WUkens i f hts attitude improves. sides Mourning, plus a few additional nesota.

BTist players from the free-agent pool.

However, tor someone who ha> .As for Hardaway. Miami will give him two months to prove coached since the 1970s. WUkens has had noticeably few 'dbhimself worthy of a contract The bet is the Heat will give Gary fic u lf players on his roster. .Almost 20 years ago WUkens ran Payton the chance to turn them down before considering into problems with Dennis Johnson but since then, he has had Hardaway, no matter how well Hardaway plays. mostly angels, especially’ in Cleveland.

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Kings The skinny: The major reason for the Kings recent slide

The skinny: General Manager Kevin M cHale denies

was the lack of a co-star for M itch Richmond. When Richmond struggled through a stretch during which he shot below 40 percent, the Kings had no Plan B. William s, a streaky player, failed. Now it is Owens' turn.

This might be the place where Owens finds a role. He was a strange fit with the W arriors and was inconsistent in Miami.

Ironically, Owens returns to the team that drafted him. then I swapped him for Richmond.

Laettner's recent verbal assault on rookie Kevin Garnett prompted die Wolves to beat the trading deadline. But suppose they waited until the summer to exchange Laettner Might they have received more in return than .Andrew iangr Lang does solve team chem istry in ways laettner never could. One. he’s a true center. Two. he > a nice Jocker-room guy.

— Sw um P o w ell

TSN POWER POLL

POWELL’S POINT

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W-L Comment 48-6 Keeoina that home wmrunq streak afive I. W aft Wafter looks smart tor keeper Kart. Payton, Kemo together 2.

41-12 The road to the Finals (joes through the House that Mike Bdft 40-14 3.

4.

36-17 Stockion steals steals record - and tans' hearts Dome their best to dive the NBA one division race 35-17 5.

Welcome back. Kenny Smith!!!'

36-20 6.

7.

34-20 They may always be in the shadow of the Mace Loss to Rockets shows there’s sttf a ways to co 33-20 a.

Need help ri team rebounding Go Fish.

32-20 9.

HokJinq the* own as they head down the stretch IO. 31-22 29-24 Now we should see who the real Christian is. ti.

Bartley has rebounds rn double freres tor 18 straight cames 26-26 12.

27-26 Maiunq a habit of dkjginq a hole mpossstte to (jet out of ll 14.

Mart Macon: The player nobody wanted.

26-25 Three-Rex helped knock the Bu&s down a peq 15.

25-29 24-27 Playing as badly as when they drafted 8 4 * Owens 16. KtoS* Seikaf/s offseason stock s a l exact* soaraxj.

17. Warriors 26-28 PJ. s days may be numbered as he baffles with Stncklanc 18. Trad Blazers 25-29 With problem children oone. this team is cnasmq.

19. Nets 23-30 Burets Poof1 ... Weards-to-be could use a ase mace now 21 23-30 Bckerstaff says his team needs to play with emotion 22-31 21. Nuggets Two victories aoairtsl teams with winning records 20-32 22. Bucks 19-34 Had mcumes but weren't wffino to deal Enc Montross 21 Celtics 24. Mavericks 17-35 One player out because of n w or illness every game this season 25. Clippers 17-36 26. Timbenrohrw 0x3 the Hawks o w McHato's pocked 16-36 Herb s tenure with the team wasn't exact* peaches 14-38 27. Raptors 11-40 Hittmq the expansion-season wafi.

28. G rizzles 57 points against Miami sets hoops back 40 yeare 29. 76ers 10-42 Records are (thou# ) Saturday s games THI s h j r t im . Nrvw NBA Power Poi cs determined by Shaun Powell and TSN editors

I

Team Bufo Sonics Ita lic Jazz Sours Rockets Pacers Lakers Knicks Cavaliers Hawks Suns Hornets Pistons Heat

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; Willie Anderson has lost a step or two over the years, as well as a couple of . inches off his vertical Teafp. The metal rad surgically arafted into his left and right shins robb«J;Anderson, 29, of a precious gift Jjgaplng-cter and darting past defender^ no lodger as effortless as it once wasi^R Of course, Anderson Is by no means glued to the fto M 'e re is M im e life in his:i8gs aniM'nw'bouhc^iffhis. „ gamlnjhe Kriicfe were {ascertain of tftaiVffiefrtheypfafried Anderson from the Raptors.lam last month? .. h'cftdn’-ttakeing to let them know theyW r^riglit on.v “He’s a very intelligent player,’ Knicks Coach Con Nelson says. .“He helps our passing;'game. It helps our basketball Jahave an intelligent player on the

The Bucks and Mavericks share the same • lra s s t / : ' frustrations. d-term future of the Knicks is Each team has young players who were I, but itis clear that for this given too much money and too much power lesion; Anderson is emerging as a key much too soon A> a player in NetsonVscheme, One', result, the players ' .example: During a.11^110 overtime have warped views of .--"victory february 21'dver the Pistons. their importance Anderson contributed 13 points, seven The latest squabble*. - .rebound’s'and six assists. in Dallas involves ja-^ ■' ' X * L a ft Morilmportant in that game, with son Kidd. 22. and Jim Patrick Ewing struggling arid John Jackson. 23 Kidd, Start® disappearing on Nelson's bench. hi< second season.

Anderson betaine the Knicks’ go-to guy says he should be con­ in the fourth quarter and in overtime. sidered the team * He-scored'seven straight points in the leader not Jackson, a fourth quarter after hie Knicks felt veteran of four N BA behind:by eight with 10:44.left and seasons. In Milwaukee. Vin Baker. 24 and in added two steals and one blocked shot. his second N BA season, says his teammates : Ih a t’s what I want toddfof this are selfish and don't share 'he ball. .Atter a re­ team: tiring some defensive Intensity,n cent 23-point loss in Charlotte. Baker refused Anderson says, "I just want to fit in on to take the team bus back to the hotel, ne had d e fe n s e .* :^ y & C & b - a ballbov call him a cab instead.

Nelson is rushfrig-to make Anderson ■ These are just the latest examples ut imma­ an integral part of the offense, too. turity in today's young stars. Come to think of Anderson can penetrate arid create nis it. the Bucks (20-32) and Mavericks 117-3.5) own shot, which autdriiatfcaliy makes nave something else in common, too Both him a Nelson favorite. ♦ teams are playing well below expectations.

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3? • COLLEGE BASKETBALL

The Sporting News

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She has been called the greatest women s basketball player who ever lived dot Nera White's greatness is equaled only by • her relative anonymity.

Associate Editor Leslie Gibson McCarthy first learned of White from the pages o f *At the Rim: A Celebration o f Women's Collegiate Basketball.r Last year while at the Women s Final Four in Minneapolis.

McCarthy, enamored of the legend of White, asked other reporters what they knew of her. Sadly, most outside of Tennessee never had heard of her. McCarthy was puzzled How could this Michael Jordan o f women's basketball be so unknown9 With the women's game gaining in popularity, McCarthy felt it was time to unravel the mystery of Nera White, and Senior Writer Steve Marantz

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What he found was a poignant story.

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era White lives atone amid hill and hollow of middle Tennessee, with five dogs, three guns and a tempera­ mental tractor. Her brick house on Oak Knob Ridge is a short piece frorn the farm on which she grew- up. the oldest 01 seven children, in an unpainted bungalow that burned down years ago. A few miles south is the town of Lafayette, where she took a first dribble toward becoming the dom­ inant women s basketball player of her era. Here. among her cattle and tobacco fields, ramrod straight in bine jeans and flannel shirt hat pulled over wispy gray hair. she passes for an everyday farmer. But no Tennessee farmer ever brought forth a harvest of mustv trophies such as those that line her shelves.

Hers is quiet legend by today's amplified standards she played for Nashville Business College from 1955 through 1969. an era when women were governed by the Amateur Athletic Union and had un­ limited eligibility. They played a different game — six to a side, two in the offensive zone, two in the defensive, and two fret- to roam the court. Nobody played it better than White. 6 feet I. slop^shouldered, slender and fast. Nashville won IO national titles with White, eight straight from 1962 through 1969 Contemporaneous was the NBA dynasty of the Boston Celtics, who won titles in IO rn 11 years from 1959 through '69 indeed. White meant as much to Nashville as Bill Russell did to the Celtics. .An ex­ plosive leaper, she positioned under the basket on defense. Her speed enabled her to snatch a rebound, trigger a fast break and catch up with the play before it reached the other end. .As point guard, she was equally deft potting perimeter shots and dribbling the lane for layups.

A defense collapsing on White was rent by a canny bounce or shovel pass to an unguarded woman. She was named AAU Tournament MVP IO times.

A former teammate. Sue Gunter, now coach of Louisiana State Uni­ versity's women, characterizes her as “a Babe Didrikson type" w*hose athleticism elevated her to the highest level of women’s softball as well as basketball.

"She was the first woman I ever saw dunk it She was one o f a few women with hands able to hold the ball and get up over the nm."

Gunter says. "She was incredibly quick and fast. You saw guys do things she did but not women. She could shoot the 3. go in and post up. lead the team in steals, and *D' up. The thing setting her apart from athletes in her era was her physical ability to run and dunk. “lf she played today, she would still be a superstar, no question in my mind. The Good Lord only blesses a few people with that kind of skilL She could have been a world-class sprinter or high jumper. But she only had access to basketball and softball, so she became amaz­ ing at that."

It seem s archaic now. but White played for pleasure She received room and board while playing for Nashville and attending Peabody College for Teachers After graduating, she was hired in a onnring shop by Nashville s sponsor. H.O. Balls, a wealthy businessman The job was no facade, demanding long hours at low wages — >1 an hour in the late 19f>tK. But playing brought one tangible bonus - - she stayed on the pnming-snop clock even while practicing and traveling to road games Games were played in high school gyms before a couple thousand fans. and revenue^ were meager. Coverage was minimal, too A twoparagraph newspaper mention was the most they could expect until the national tournament Nashville's team traveled in iars. crossing midwestern and southern states on two-lane roads, sleeping tour to a room al Howard Johnsons. White enjoyed dnving. Nothing she liked better than pointing a car down a sun-drenched Route 66 and crank­ ing Patsy Cline on the radio. She experienced freedom and joy on bas­ ketball's blue highways, but her enrichment was purely sensory. .Af­ ter adopting a son in 1969. she left the game just a< »? was lurching into the modem five-player era. She was 33 and. some sav. at her peak.

In the years since. White, 60. became something ut a recluse She always had wanted to go back to farming. She left Nashville and nar­ row ed her world to I )ak Knob Ridge, where she inherited land and

COLLEGE BASKETBALL • 33

March 4,1996

P h o to s

By ALBERT DICKSON

bought more. Making a living has been difficult. Grudgingly, she ven­ tured to the Basketball Hah of Fame in Springfield, Mass., in 1992, where, along with Lucy Harris, became the first two women players inducted. But White believed the Hall’s recognition came too late to help ease what she describes as a “subsistence" existence.

She does not kindly suffer strangers or writers. The media’s chron­ ic indifference became mutual Arranging an interview required ne­ gotiating through a friend. Her decision to be interviewed surprised friends; they suspect pride and sense of history won out over privacy.

When I locate W hites house with some difficulty on a chilly january afternoon, her friend ushers me in. For half a minute. White hangs back, a gray silhouette in a dim kitchen.

• "I usually get lost in the country." I say.

“You think this is country?" comes a drawL “I reckon." I hear myself drawl.

She steps into the light Tall and angular, she moves with stiff econ­ omy. We shake hands; hers are rough and chapped. Her face is weathered, eyes pale blue and unblinking and. I think, shy. Her ex­ pression is Tennessee Gothic. There is a stillness about her. centered and observant “You’re only two miles off the highway," she says. “Real country is five or six miles back. That’s where I'd like to be."

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era WTiite’s basketball career gave her i^o sore knees and a bruised psyche. Her desire to remove farther into the Ma­ con County outback reflects a hun that infuses but does not dominate ber personality. It emerges unpredictably, like a ' ' TV boil on a nose, and quickly subsides. Talking with White I gam er an impression that she m uses her grievance with care bordering on so­ ■ : / 0 f licitude. Bitterness adds a fine piquancy to her attentive, informed / ■. and wryly observant conversation. l f I JJP S Ai least that's how her friends at Pedigo’s Grocery know her. De­ • ' ? .v/ Vs spite W hites description of herself as “antisocial." she enjoys the fel­ lowship of farmers. Most mornings she drives her pickup truck two miles to a small market on Highway IO. Glenn and Lori Pedigo’s store sells a bit of everything, including shaved barbecue ham sandwiches - r n , r n on white bread for $1.40. Farmers and assorted laborers sit at the back, under a television, sipping soft drinks and coffee, smoking to beat the devil White sits among them, bolt upright chatting of crops, land and a political topic du jour, usually the federal government run amok.

One of her friends. Bennie Jones, asks me, “What do you think of Rush Limbaugh?"

I change the subject “How many women you know Nera’s age who farm alone?" I ask.

“None, "Jones says. “Not any age. Just isn’t done Nera’s an unusual woman."

She calls the group her “social circle." It is apt to include Tim Jones, a farmer who rolls her hay. Billy King, a farmer who repairs her trac­ to r Jackie McClard, a gentleman fanner who acquired wealth dis­ tributing soft drinks; and Radar, a happy yokel with a Gomer Pyle laugh. Some of the older farmers saw White play basketball, but the younger ones know little about her career. Recently King. 30, ogled her trophies for the first time.

“Nera, I didn’t know you was so famous," he said. His admiring comment must have embarrassed him, because he quickly appended it “Woman, a five-gallon bucket won’t fit over your head now.* White counts King among her friends. I ask how she knows a friend. Easy, she says, “lf you need them and they’re busy, they drop it and come. I got a number around here."

She chews on an idea.

“T he main thing is Tm not dependent on anybody now." White con­ tinues. T h e r e s nothing they depend on me for. Or me them. There are no illusions here. In Nashville, I did depend on somebody."

The catalytic event in White’s adult life was losing her printing job Forever Immortalized: A replica ofa plaque dedicating a gymnasium in her honor hangs in White’s living room. in 1982. Balls had died and left his businesses to two nephews. She be-

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Farm ttftsg: Times kave been trying for White.

L a s year cattie prices fell, feed costs rose and the tobacco crop t«zs assaulted by pests, fungus and tuKt droughts. When you farm , you 'tv got'o lot a f tw rnes. ' says WTii/f's june F i^ e r (bekew). helping with the tobacco crop.

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lieved she had been guaranteed a job for life. Balls had told a couple of her teammates she would be included in his will: she wasn’t The new owners told her there was not enough work to keep her on after 23 years and gave her two months severance pay. At the time, she was maldng S6.05 an hour, half that of men in the shop, and supporting her IS-year-oId son. She never has forgiven the old grandee. Herman BaDs, who sponsored women's basketball as a hobby.

"Basically, he lied." White says. “And he was supposed to be such a decent reli^ou s man."

A job search through NashviDe’s printing companies proved futile; she returned to Macon County d e te rm in e to make ii as a former.

White says her appearance may have kept her from landing a job.

“I was well qualified, but I probably didnt look like they expected me to." she says.

“How did the>* e x p e a you to look?"

“Probably feminine. Not that I saw any beauty queens workmg."

A woman’s appearance may be iijelevant to basketball bul never to life. White's selfdeprecation reveals a sad pain long reconciled. In her time and culture, women were held to conventional standards of beau­ ty and sexuality. Rctures show the adolescent White to be blonde and fraD and feminine. As she matured, her appearance became masculine and athletic, accentuated by a deep voice. Cruelties have echoed in her wake.

"Most women aren't as matter-of-faa about their appearance." I say.

She shrugs.

“I look at things the wa)' they are." she says, “and not the way rd like them lo be. I might like things to be different, but I can't dwell on h."

Her secret is o u t Nera White wanted lo be a Catherine Deneuve.

W ell I think, what woman didn't? Instead, she p o ssesses a physical presence compelling in its strength and dignify. Two tall people.

Eleanor Roosevelt and Abraham lincoin. come to mind. *^'ou were cute in your younger pictures." I say.

White chuckles. She r e ^ s one of her so n s girlfriends staring at a photo of the youthful Nera. Then the girl looked at WTiite.

"TShat happened?" the girl asked.

“I got old." White replied.

At Pedigo's. Tim Jon es’ 6-year-old daughter. Moll)-, asks her moth­ er. Cindy, why White dresses “Uke a man."

“Because she does the work of a man." Cindy Jones says.

The degree to which VMiite's appearance shaped her life is a m>*ster>* she guards. It is not a stretch to suggest her reclusiveness stem s from self<oD sdousness. Friends and famil)’ say she alw'ays has been private. If there was an affair of the heart, or a romance, she kept it to herself.

"Did you consider marriage?" I ask.

"I never thought about it. never looked." she says. “ Probably couldn't find one anyway."

A hearty chuckle erupts.

"Fd hate to think what it would be like to be my husband." White says.

“Fm my own person. aiwa>'s have been."

Loneliness was not a problem after her father persuaded her to adopt His reasoning. VMiite recalls, was she needed someone lo look after her in old age. A former teammate, unwed and already the moth­ er of an infant could not support a second baby. White brought home her son, Jefi. on March 8 .1 9 ^ . She kept him a secret from H.O. Balls until the national tournament concluded — triuraphantly for Nashville — a month later. She retired as Balls, unwilling to change to a fiveplayer game, disbanded the team.

Hanfry a trace remains of the dynast)-. Nashville Business CoDege was c l o ^ after Balls' death. Team pictures, championship trophies and 'White's satin jersey No. l l were discarded. Eventually the downtowm '^'MCA where the club practiced was tom down.

hite show's me a brief video of herself in action. It is a short clip of the 1962 AAU championship g p i e . in St. Joseph. Mo., against Wayland Baptist of Plinview, Texas.

NashviDe’s fiercest rival. Film footage of ber era is rare and of poor quality, and the film gives just a taste of White’s skiU. She executes a quick switchover dribble, right to left, top df the circle, probes for an opening and explodes into the lane. Defenders converge. .^1 the last second she flicks the baD to her right into the hands of an open teammate. Next possession the defender drops off of White and she swishes a 30-foot set sh o t Two more set shots from the same dis­ tance draw- only n et “I could have shot a jumper." \\'hite says. “Didn't have to. Guard dropped off. No point jumping if you don't have to."

She scored 28 points that night Another game, she recalls. Way­ land pressured her. She scored seven points but had 11 assists and 14 rebounds. Her recall is detailed and precise. In the '69 semifinals, Way­ land overplayed her right hand on the theorv- she was less effective going left. vVhite and .NashviDe Coach John Head worked out four op­ tions involving \Miite’s brushing by a pick al the lop of the circle, right lo left. She could keep the ball or throw three different p a sse s. It

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March 4,1996

worked. Wayland went down, again. Her description is as if the game White is 30 pounds above her playing w eight yet still trim at 185 were yesterday. pounds. Occasionally she smokes a cigar and sips a glass of wine. She Some of her richest if not entirely pleasant memories are of inter­ cracked some ribs felling out of a bam and accidentally sprayed pesti­ national play. In 1957, she led the U.S. women to a gold at the World cide onto her face, but nothing has kept her down too long. She has a Championships in Brazil. White survived dysentery and a lacerated up­ nervous stomach, but on balance, she has her health. per lip to ignite a last-minute com eback against the Soviets in the final.

Nonetheless, last year was a bad one on the farm. Cattle prices fell, She was with an American contingent — men and women — ven­ feed costs rose and the tobacco crop was assaulted by pests, fungus turing to the Soviet Union in 1958, at the height of the Cold War. Sovi­ and two droughts. Foreign competition has reduced the amount of to­ et women, nurtured by the state, were big and mean. They seemed to bacco White is permitted to grow. Her tractor is prone to breakdowns, enjoy contact and driving a knee or elbow into an American rib. It was and her '84 pickup truck has 177.(XX) miles on it hard to sort out one Soviet from another. White recalls, because o f 12 Margins are shrinking, she may have to plant soybeans and wheat players, “seven were named Nina." to keep up. lf not for the help of a 14-year-old nephew, she would bt* The Soviets were lousy hosts. “T h e y tried to starve us to death." hard-pressed to tend her fields. “Sh e worries a lot," says a sister. June White says. “After the last game, they brought out the good food-* Play­ Fisher, who lives in a Nashville suburb. “When you farm, you’ve got a ing hungry, the American women won four of six games. White was lot of worries ... but she won’t ever have to worry about having any­ their leader. thing to live on. S h e s got her brothers and sisters."

International play was fu0-court 5orv5. WTute had little use for the But the worry does weigh heavily on White; she seem s increasing­ Soviets because they played a physical game. She likens their style to ly morose over what she has com e to view as her misspent youth. today's college game, which she characterizes as physical aggressive While others were building wealth and security. White was playing a and lacking in finesse. Occasionally she watches “the girls" on televi­ game. The depth of her recrimination is revealed in speaking of her sion. but prefers watching coflege men. In White’s eyes, the w om ens son. Jeff. a Navy nuclear submarine specialist He is the light of her game has become a slam dance; the old AAU game, 4-on-4, was a bal­ life, but by her account he was not an easy' child. She recalls him. at 14. le t shooting at a backyard hoop. Frustrated at his lack of skill he shout­ “Basketball is not necessarily a game of strength." she says. “You ed at her. “I know why you don't like me — because I’m not an athlete don’t have to be physical to play i t but they're turning it into something like you." really physical Take a White’s reaction, she resmall girl who is dain­ calls, was to laugh. ty, who can’t take a “Why did you laugh?" I beating. She has to ask. take too much grief “Look at me. W'hat did it away from the bafl. Ii I get me? Two worn out was coming out of knees. All for nothing. high school today I Dusty trophies. Certificates don’t think I could that don’t mean a thing." have fit in: I was too “Unless you never win •r > . ft N • slender and lig h t If I one." I say.

V r i / . * i ^ ", » was 25 or 30. yes.

She mulls it over. > ' fJ*?: .

- ' :,s - l ? ' “ I d o n ’t t h i n k N “Perhaps. But when I •V a 4 vf*g-r ••• women ought to play look at what it got me. eco­ ✓ the men’s game. They nomically. all that work and aren’t strong enough. sweat, nothing. No job se ­ You watch them. They curity. Nothing." can’t run the court but This she says sorrowful 15 minutes before ly. absent anger. Her pale eyes go someplace distant t h e y ’r e d r a g g in g . ' ■ . . r n • • M ost of them can’t Quiet settles over her small *’ £;' •*shoot a 3-point jump living room, she is still. s h o t They don’t have Then she resumes. T here the strength." were options, she concedes.

She acknowledges She could have used her Kjfl af Hmem White and Lucy Harris were thefirst two women players inducted into the her views as unpopu­ teaching degree to burrow Basketball Had of Fame They were joined in the 1992 inductions by (from left) Jack $ comfortably into a school lar. This is her ornery, Ramsay, Connie Hawkins and Lou Camesecca churlish side, aggra­ system. She could have vated perhaps by an coached basketball possi­ estrangement from the game. Her Theory of Daintiness seem s oddly bly at a college, and ridden the rising tide of the women's game. She contradictory. Everything about White s life represents an independent could have been born 40 years later and played professionally in Eu­ and self-reliant ideal of women. She is adamant about equal pay. having rope or in the new American pro league. She could have done any num­ suffered a double standard for years. Surely she would be sensitive to ber of things. And I am thinking anybody 60 years of age could say the same. Choices must be made. She chose to be a translucent icon of an a negative message inherent rn women playing 4-on-4.

Indeed, a recent Nike commercial featuring three women playing invisible era. outdoor pickup against men, carried a slogan: “Basketball is basket­ “I have nobody to blame but m yself — I ball. athletes are athletes." T h e politically correct m essage is gender made the decision to continue playing." she equality. says. “I can’t say I believed it would get me “W e ll if that is so." White says, “then why do the women play with anything of value. I didn’t deep down. I played because I wanted to." a smaller ball? I f s good to have ball control but if you’re pawing and scratching for equal rights, why make the ball smaller? Now they’re This is what I want to say to Nera WTiite. sit­ talking about lowering the goal soc inches." • ‘ ting gloomily in her easy chair. Don’t beat up on yourself. Playing the gam e for joy — and An anecdote she tells suggests she may not take her argument se­ not money — is nothing to be ashamed of. You riously. As a senior at Macon County High S ch o o l White asked the football coach if she could play.

F ' never huckstered shoes. Overexposure never “You need someone who can catch the ball 4nd run with it " she said rendered you mundane. You honored the game and your g ift You traveled the world to him. and barnstormed Route 66 when it meant “You can’t play. Nera,* the coach said. “You’re too thin. Tm afraid you would get h u rt But I bet you’d be a good one." something. Maybe your life could be better, but it could have been worse. Not every White tells the story with a chuckle. woman brought Moscow to its knees in ’58.

“He didn’t say I couldn’t play because I was a g irl" she says “I will always rem em ber th a t’ and not every icon has the pleasure of calling Aro d less traveled: Farad the miles White spent on the road traveling to in her cattie from the woods. play basketball, it is fitting that the road north o f Lafayette, Tenn., leading* Som etim es words can't be found. Nera to White'sfarm has been named in her honor.

White, who attained genius virtually in silence, arm ers congenitally “talk poor" while living comfortably. will understand.

W hite’s house is furnished with modern appliances, a color

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Steve M arantz is a senior w riter fo r The S p o r t in g N e w s .

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is averaging more than 15 points in a sixth-man role.

Bonewitz, a freshman who can play both guard posi­ tions. is a deadly 3-point shooter. Next season, the Red Raiders will add two promising newcomers — junior college transfer Gracen Averil, who is redshining this season, and prep standout Richard Evans.

That deal was for two years, .Although the Red Raid­ and Dickey rented a house in ers never have enjoyed Lubbock instead of busing. success on the scale He recently built a home in they're experiencing this Lubbock. But Dickey, who season, they have show­ earns $113,465 in base salary. ed the makings of a con­ would rather talk about his sistent Top 25 team be­ contract after the season to fore. Behind center W ill avoid a distraction.

Flemons. and an out­ “Ive had very little input standing freshman class. on the past contractual Tech shocked the SWC deals." Dickey says. “There by coming from fifth are things this program place to win the 1993 needs and things I'd like to SWC Tournament and discuss for mv family. earn a berth in the NCAA "lf the university gives me Tournament the opportunity. I would like Although Texas Tech to have some input in this. lost to St. Jo h n 's'by 18 But now is not the proper points and was eliminated time, because it will take time in the first round, the Red to work out. I just want to be Raiders appeared to have competitive in the market­ the core for the future place." with Jason Sasser. Koy Some think Dickey will Smith and point guard have problems being com­ Lenny Holly. But the petitive in the Big 12 because prospects of becoming Texas Tech's facilities lag the SWC's next “triplets’ compared with the rest of the were derailed by the un­ new league members. As the expected transfer of Hold­ name indicates. l,ubbock back home to a junior col­ Municipal Coliseum is not TecMacolan Thanks to the effort of players such as Darvin Ham, the Red Raiders, lege in New Mexico.

Tech's property.

The '93-94 Red Raiders ranked in the Top IO for the first time, are soaring to new heights.

The S. 174-seat building, finished bed for second in also know n as “The Bubble." will be one of vale and public funding. j the league and 17-11 overall. The next season the smallest and outdated in the new confer­ “I think the three other facilities in the was a struggle early on unbl point guard Ja­ ence. Only Texas A&M's G. Rollie White Col­ state have prompted people to take a longer son Martin became eligible in December. iseum is smaller at 7.500. But that will change look." Dickey says. “But what gets recruits in­ Texas Tech rallied to finish 20-10 and earn an shortly. Texas A&M is expected to complete terested is winning ... We have to use that to i NIT bid after getting snubbed by the NCAA. construction of the 12.500-seat Reed .Arena in neutralize the facility issue."

T h is team is way deeper than we were rn the summer of 1997. Baylor and Texas have One area Texas Tech apparently won't 1993." Sasser says. “We already have two facilities that are less than 20 years old and have future concerns about is talent. With sophomores who are contributing. As long as seat at least 10.000. center Tony Barbe and guards Corey Carr we keep winning and getting top recruits, the Ixibbocks citizens voted down a proposal and Stan Bonewitz. the Red Raiders have the arena is not an issue." last vear lo build a n e w facility. But Bockrath nucleus to be a success in the Big 12 Neither will be this teams place in SWC and Dickey say they remain hopeful a new Bathe, a 6-11 sophomore, has emerged as history. + arena will be approved in the next two years. one of the SW C's premier rebounders and If voters don't approve a new arena, there is shot-blockers. ranking among conference D arryl R ichards is a sportsw riter fo r the possibility of a venture that includes prileaders in each category. Carr, a sophomore. the D allas M o rn in g frews.

Perfect ending Acing the SWC final would be great, but the Red Raiders want to be prepared for their Big 12 test Bv Dark"ti Richards.

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Texas, which has the nation talking Red Raiders basketball.

Yes. its true. Texas Tech is peaced right up there with Kentucky. Massachusetts and Connecticut in everybody's Top IO Many times during this period of the season, the air has gone out of the Red Raiders' season as fans got pumped for spring football. Remem­ ber. this is a school that has only nine career appearances in the N O M Tournament. But this season, possibly the greatest in Texas lech annals, is different. Wav different.

The Red Raiders extended their winning streak lo 17 games last Saturday after a 75*58 victory at Texas. The triumph clinched the Southwest Conference title, the Red Raiders' first outright crown since 1984-S5. A home vic­ tory Saturday against Rice would make Tech .41 overall and KW) in league play, the first .southwest Conference team to finish unbeat­ en in league play since Houston in 1982-63.

But just as die Red Raiders, whose joss this reason was to Eastern Michigan, have estab­ lish e d their turf. that tun will change to the new Big 12 Conference next season.

It figures to be a tougher neighborhood How Texas Tech will fare in the Big 12 del>ends on two variables: the future of Coach .fames Dickey and a playing facility that is be­ neath Big 12 standards.

Dickey has built the Red Raiders into one of the motif consistent performers in the SWC during his five seasons in west Texas He has established a growth pattern that lias made him an attractive coach for a school looking to make a change or stay on top.

Dickey and .Athletic Director Bob Bockrath say they will explore contract options at (he end of the season. D ic k e v has two vears left on a four-year contract he signed after the 1-993-94 season.

Dickey certainly feels more secure than he did under his first contract with Texas Tech.

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Watch the pages of Field Si Stream come to lite on Cable!

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& The editors of Field & Stream Magazine join local and

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worldwide celebrities in legendary fishing and bunting locales throughout North America. Check your local cable listings and catch the outdoor legends of America.

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COUSE BASKETBALL • 37

March 4.1996

'N COLLEGE BASKETBALL REPORT

It’s no surprise so many players leave early \

Mike

DeCOURCY f you focus only on the ga m e, its difficult to understand why any young man would want to leave college basketball, let alone depart with one o r m ore years of eligibility remaining. Then there are weeks like this past one. which m ake it less clear why anyone would bother to stay.

Kerry Kitties, a candidate for Big East Con­ ference player of the year, did what college basketball sup p orters so fervently en d orse: He stayed four seasons at Vfflanova, although he had the opportunity to b ecom e a top choice in the NBA draft. W hen he m essed up. as young people occasionally do. he w as re­ warded for his loyalty with a thretsgam e exile and a ridiculous news c o h e re n c e in which he had to say things such as, T m totally em bar­ rassed for letting down Villanova University.** Kittles was alleged to have violated NCAA rules with his unauthorized use of a tele­ phone cred it card . His actions w ere w rong, but w hether he was outside the rules of col­

How much is enough?

Since the subject is crim e and punishm ent it may be a proper tim e to ad d ress the issue of Richie Parker.

P ark er is a student at M esa Community College in .Arizona. He is not a player th ere. .After an incident in­ volving a 16-year-old female classm ate in high school.

P ark er is serving a five-year probation after plea-bargain­ ing down to a sexu ak ab u se conviction. M esa. like every program in Division I. would not let him play for that rea­ son.

T h o se sch oo ls m ade the right decision, but how long should he be kept in exile?

T exas-E l Paso is consider­ ing recruiting him, and pub­ lic critid sra already h as b e gun. In part, it se e m s Parker is being punished for the cal­ lou sn ess displayed by th e sch oo ls that originally r e c a n te d him. Seton Hall, w here P ark er first signed a ietter of intent, took too long to pull its offer. G eorge

lege athletics is debatable. The card did not belong to an athletic departm ent w orker, and others used it improperly, none of them ath­ letes. W h atever punishm ent he was dealt should have been between Kittles and Vil­ lanova. Basketball should not have been an issue.

College basketball is nearing a crisis state, and actions such as this make the situation worse. T h e gam e was dam aged this season by player defections to professional basket­ ball. N ext season's recruiting classes will be diluted by h a rsh e r initial-eligibility require­ m ents. F o r those already in college, there is the in crea sin g possibility of joining the AllNot-All-Am erican-Boys team: ■ C en ter Samak] W alker watched nearly all of Louisville’s season because the school took forever to decide he had done nothing w rong in buying a c a r from a su m m er em­ ployer and b ecau se the NCAA then took awhile longer to pick through that exam ina­ tion.

■ Maryland senior guard Duane Simpkins ran up m ore than $ 8 ,000 in parking fines — quite an ach ievem en t, if you think about it H ow ever foolish this was, should it m atter that to pay the debt he borrowed the money from som eone he met through basketball, a form er su m m er league co ach ? T h e NCAA benched him for three gam es.

■ A : .Arkansas, forward Sunday Adebayo and guard Je s s e Pate accep ted the sch ool’s d irection s on how to b ecom e eligible after each failed to graduate from junior college on tim e. With the season at its m ost crucial

W ashington offered a schol­ T h is year, the com m ittee arship to the victim as well will have two ballots to start as P ark er. A Utah assistan t the process. The first will list was quoted as making Park­ each m em b er’s top 17 candi­ e r out to be the victim. dates for at-large bids.

But P ark er h as made .Again, unanim ous ch o ices peace with the justice sy s­ will join the field. T h e s e c ­ tem and his victim, and Park­ ond ballot will list oth er e r is looking to resu m e his team s the m em bers believe normal life. A 6-5 guard, he should be considered. That happens to have a talent for should deepen the pool of basketball. If he w ere an en­ team s that will get a look. gin eering student with the Com m ittee chairm an Bob sam e rap s h e e t would he be Frederick, the athletic d irec­ kepi away from a slide rule? i tor at Kansas, says th ere are as many as 7 0 team s that could oe considered “on the bubble" for a berth. “T h ere T h e selection com m ittee are a lot m ore good team s, for the NCAA Tournam ent is and i t s a lot m ore difficult to making a slight ch an ge in its select and seed th em ." he procedure this year, a reflec­ says. tion of the increased pari-

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ly /m e d io crity afflicting the * * * ----------------1 i gam e.

In past years, the first step ( George Washington Coach for th e co m m ittee was lo M ike Jarv is didn’t think have the nine m em b ers vote Shawm s R ogers, a 5-3 point on the 34 team s thev be­ guard, could play for him the lieved d eserved at-large first time he watched him. A bids. All team s that were typical reaction to such a lit­ unanim ous selection s en­ tle guy? Not quite. Jarvis tered the field, and o th ers thought R ogers was too m entioned w ere placed un­ good for the Colonials to der consideration. have a ch an ce.

wasangtons general

Critical m a s s The NCAA s intense scrutiny o f Kittles (center) and other players only encourages stars to leave and has the sport reaching a crisis state. stage, the p ro cess they followed was ques­ tioned by the N CAA The R azorbacks began holding them from gam es so as not to be po­ tentially soiled by the use of ineligible play­ ers.

"I pride myself in running a tight ship with the Arkansas program , because I know fm in the spotlight," R azorbacks C oach Nolan Richardson says. "Jesse Pate and Sunday .Adebayo was an open-book case. What have we done wrong? I don't have to cheat to win. and I hate those who do.* Som e of these problem s might have been

“If it weren't for Kwame Evans being here, we'd nev­ e r have gotten him ." Jarvis. says. Evans, the C olonials* star forward, is a close friend of R ogers. That helped keep him away from interested .At­ lantic Coast Conference teams.

With R ogers at the point.

G eorge Washington was 14-3 entering the week after its destruction last Saturday of unbeaten M assach u setts.

W ithout him. the Colonials opened 4-2. H e didn't play until D ecem b er 2 / because he hadn’t scored high enough on the Scholastic Assessm ent T est. He m ade the required sco re after being classified as having a learn­ ing disability and taking the cest with no time limit.

R ogers is averaging nearly IO points and six assists and is 30 rugged he is the team 's No. 2 reoounder. Despite his height, lie sees the floor well enough to be perhaps the best in the nation at throwing eourt-length passes.

“W hen you’re looking for a point guard, it d oesn ’t matter how big he is." Jarvis says. "H e c re a te s m atchup

a v e r te d if a th le tic s c h o l a r s h ip s in clu ded a stip en d. M e e tin g annually* at a c o n v e n tio n th ai d e m o n s t r a t e s w hv d e m o c r a c y in its p urest form is a lousy idea — on e sch o o l, on e •

vole, total c h a d s — th e N C A A m e m b e r s h ip k e e p s d ista n cin g itself from this iss u e . T h e d e le g a te s slay in first-class h otels, eat in firstc l a s s r e s t a u r a n ts . fly first c la s s to and from th e c o n v e n tio n , and they say th e r e isn t e n o u g h m o n ey to pay ath le tes.

N C A A r e g u l a t o r s follow th e m a n d a te of th e s e p eop le Is it any w o n d er th e y so often s e e m to have no h e a rt"

p ro b le m s for th e o t h e r team

looking out for t h o s e at th e o t h e r end He w ants th e ACC T o u r n a m e n t form at re v ise d , perhaps cre atin g a bye for the top te a m s and eliminating the

instead uf c r e a tin g m a tc h u p I p ro b le m s for u s ."

I • .

•

Parting shots

g a m e b etw een s e e d s .s and V. T h e h o tte s t r u m o r rn • w hich m a k e s th o s e t e a m " c o a c h in g c ir c le s h a s D u k e s e a rn th eir way into th e o p en ­ M ike K rzy zew sk i re tu rn in g ing b ra c k e t. O d e m ca lls th e h o m e to Illinois ( h e ’s from S-0 g a m e a " m o n s t e r " and C h i c a g o ) to ta k e o v e r for says. T h e r e s a very bad stig­ i Lou H en so n , who is retirin g m a that g o e s with that. ... If y* o u w a tch on lv• o n e w h e th e r it's right or wrong • g a m e in E S P N ’s C h a m p i­ ... S ou th e rn California lost its

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40 • COLLEGE OASKETBAU lf!

The Sporting News

No. 305 and trying harder Rt*mt*mbrr W offord’ hiph." he says.

Hack in th e fall, we intn>duced you lo M aybe? the T e rrie rs, whom we ranked last in the ' C oach Richard Jo h n so n can tell you p reseaso n am ong the 3t>5 D n isio n I . about p ressu re. Several w-eeks ago. h is sch ix ils (TSN . N ovem ber 2C) .-\s it turns T e rriers (then 0*12) trailed Tusculum , an out. W offord is liring down to the expe<. - ’ NALA school in T e n n e sse e , by two points tatio n s we lo n x 'a st. But b rig h ter lim es may b<- ahead.

C o n sid e r Cal I*oly-San Luis O bisp o, w hich en terin g th e w eek boasted a I > 11 n*cord and was in first placE" in th e .A jnencan W est C o n h T c n ce , It went l-2 b la s t st'aso n . its first in th e |)ivision I ra n k s In fact. the M u stan g s w ere ran k ed last am ong 302 D ivision I s c h o o ls by T n t S p tifm v ; N fw s b e fo re thi' 19S4-95 se a so n . D e ­ sp ite its rapid n s e . Cal Poly probabi,v w on't play in th e NC.A.A T o u rn a m e n t b e c a u s e its leag u e d o e s n ’t g et an a u to m atic b erth and It’s u n lik ely th e .M ustangs will re c e iv e an at-larg e bid B u l th e ) have to sen *e a s inspiration for W offord iH inng W offo rd 's m aiden voy­ age in D ivision I. th e re h a s been nothing to lo se e x cep t th e next g am e T h e T e rrie rs , who presiously played in D irision IL w ere 420 en terin g the week.

"W e 'v e ta k en o u r lum ps th is Woe Is Woffortl: The Terriers have been whipped often y ea r. th a t's for s u r e ." ju n io r fo r­ during their debut season in the Division I ranks ward T e r r e n c e Gilvard sa vs. “W e didn’t e x p ect it lo b e th is way " How could anyone not exp ect iu given with 12 m inutes rem aining.

T h a t w asn't fun. I’m sitting on the W offord's sch ed u le’ T h e T e rriers opened with lo sses lo Mis­ b en ch th in k in g . *1 can sell in su ra n ce .' ’ Jo h n so n say s. “I w'as th in k in g a b o u t ca­ sou ri. \'anderbiil and N orth C arolina Slate 'D ien cam e g a m e s with East Caroli­ reer options at that ju n ctu re." na. .Auburn and T e n n essee-C h a tta n o o g a W offord eventualK ran off to a 99-70 vieton*, its first in Ifig a m e s. It also happened (loss. loss. loss) .After lo sse s to .Army and to b e the sch o o l's first gam e against a nonSouth Carolina. W offord was threatening its sch o o l record for fulilit)'. a 2-3S m ark D irision I team . in 19S8-69 It s usuaDy not th is way for Jo h n so n , a St'th C hadw ick, a ju n io r sh ootin g large (6-8). friendly guy who would rather guard, says the clu b figured to b e about cra ck a one-liner than talk about zone de­ ..W "M ay b e we set our exp ectatio n s loo fen ses. He played under and coach ed for #

♦

TSN TOP 25

I

Tw m I. Kentuckv 2. M m K h u se tts !• _ Coonecttcui 4.

Kansas 5. ViOanova 6.

Texas Tech 7. Purdue a . Georgetown 9. Ctnctnnatl IO. VlrolnlaTech ll.

Arizona 12. Wake Forest U Penn State 14.

Utah 15.

UCLA 16. U em phis 17.

Louisville 18.

Iowa State 19. Georoe Washinatoti North Carofina 20.

21.

Marouelte Syracuse 22.

23.

Tulane 24.

Geofoit Tech Wisconsin-Green Bay 25.

W-L 24.1 26-1 2 42 23-2 23-3 ?4.1 22-a 23-5 20-3 20-3 2t-5 18-5 19-4 225 19^ 19-5 19-7 19-7 17-5 19^ 18-5 20-7 17.6 17.10 ?4.?

N orth Carolina State C oach Des Robinson when the two w ere at T h e Citadel.

Sin ce com in g to W offord in 1985. Jo h n ­ son h as had only one losin g se a so n and tw ice h as posted 20-win se a so n s. So he shrug? his sh o u ld er^ with a “what can > ou do?" look w hen talking about th is cam ­ p a ig n .'

"TVe could've put this thing on auto pi­ lot and won our 18 g a m e s a y ear." he says about rem aining at the D h ision 0 lev­ el. "B u l I was ready for a ch allenge.

T h is is a ch allen g e."

T h e r e have b een b rig h t sp o ts - DOI alw ays on th e cou rt. -After the T e r r ie r s lost to .Army in Januar>-. th ev w ere strand ed in New Y ork C it)’ du ring th e N o rth e a ste rn b liz­ zard. So they w ent to pla>’s. w ere in­ terview ed on T\ and w andered a d e­ se rte d and sn ow -covered T im e s Sq u are.

A few w ee k s ago again st Sou th C arolina. W offord led 39-30. and a stunned G am eco ck s crowd sat quiet­ ly. T h e T e rrie rs sh o t 68 percen t (15 for 22) in th e first half, way above th eir 40.9 percent average. It alm ost didn't m atter that th e G a m e co ck s cam e b ack for an 82-55 victory.

T V e looked at it lik e a rivalry g am e, and th e re w as no doubt we could play with th e m ." says C h ad ­ w ick. who had 23 points, including five 3-poiniers.

W offord finally g ot w hat it was w aiting for last w eek: its first victory ov er a D ivision I team w hen it beat E a st T e n n e s s e e S la te . T h e T e r r ie r s trailed at h alftim e. 43-35. but rallied for an 8 1-76 trium ph on th e road.

It W’a s a m ilesto n e victory for W offord and Jo h n so n , w'ho h as a 10-year plan T o build a con sisten t winning D-I program ." one w here W offord is in a stron g co n fer­ en ce . regularly pla>ing to m ake the NCAA T o u rn a m e n t T h e T e rrie rs recenlh* join ed th e Sou th ­ ern C o n feren ce along with LTJC G reen s­ boro and the CoDege of C harleston. T h at's a good step. bu l m ore tough tim es proba­ bly loom . T h e jovial Jo h n so n fig u res to w eath er the storm , bu l for now h e h as a

I

Conunent A 23-oanie wnrvnQ streak is U K 's lorxiest since R udd ' s Runts How WSI the Mirxjtemen respond to defeat^ Kerry Kittles m ssteo may clear UConn's oath to a No I seed R S time lo fine-tune tor the NCAA Tournament Kitties mistake may have tar-reachmo enobcations The Red Raiders are makinc the final SW C season memorable WtfirvnQ the B io Ten IS oettma reoeOtious for Keady and Co Hold on' John Thomosoo has taken the rems off Alen fverson MavDe Bob Huooms shooid oet thrown out of every name Beme the second bes! in the A-10 isn't so bad The 'C ats may oet tnpped on thev tnp to the stale of Washmoton Sweep of Carolmas would do wonders for the Deacs' confidence fmpressive vtctor>es have been few and far between Any chance of finshmo with a fiunv s fadmo fast.

The B runs are wmnmo. but it hasn’t been pretty iniunes could sabotaoe hopes for a strono fir»sh Cardinals farts have to be asbno: S a m ^ W ho'’ Dednc waiouQhbY may be the Bio Eioht's best piaver Perhaps Mike Jarvts can schedule U M ass more tiBauenOv The Heels ctose al Wake Forest and al Duke Uflh Textbook defense is the (bolden Eaoles cafhno card The Oanoem en wilt po as far as John WaHace cam es them The March 2 dame ar Memphis looms lame Is there a better backcourt duo than Marburv-Barr/’ The viCJooes keep coming tor the Phoena

Ttvouph SatunJa/s games Others recervmg voles Bradley. Mississippi State. Stantorti The TSN Top ?$ IS determmed try columnisi Mitre DeCourcy and TSN edflOfS

n m m m m m m

ric to n - to rem em b er in a seaso n that is worth forgetting.

N

—Pm Ua»au

Plowed und» T h e pain con tinu es at N ebraska. .After blow ing a l> p o in t secon d -h alf lead last Sunday and falling in overtim e to O klahom a. 80-76. the C o n ih u sk ers had lit­ tle to say about losin g th eir eig h th corv secu tive gam e.

T h e team plays so hard and lo ses like that. It hu rts prett)' bad." sen io r guard E r­ ick Strickland says. T h a t s all I rn going to sav about that."

M any N ebrask a players have decided to avoid m edia interview s until after the season in th e w*ake o f a F eb ru ar) 12 prac­ tic e boycott bv m ost of the team and a m eeting with Athletic D irector Bill Byrne.

F o u r p layers have b een su spend ed for m ore than 17 g a m e s this season for disdplinaiy reason s.

T h e losing streak is th e longest for .Ne­ b raska sin ce a n in e g a m e skid in 1963-64.

T h e H u sk ers haven't won sin ce b eatin g .Missouri on Januarv- 24. #

•

r

Compare and contrast T h e selection-and seed in g p ro ce ss for the NCAA T o u rn am en t can g e t down to th e nitt>^-gritT>’. literally.

S electio n C o m m ittee ch airm an B ob F red erick used ju st that term w hen asked if h e fell th is se a so n 's se ed in g p ro ce ss could be even hard er than usual with such pant)' am ong the lop 2 0 team s — and b e­ yond.

T h i s tim e d efinitely will b e th e roost difficult ever. and I think w e're helped by all the inform ation m ade available to us by the NCAA staff." says F red erick , the ath­ letic d irecto r at K ansas.

“O n e of th e th in g s really helpful in seed in g a s well a s in selection is th e nittygritty co m p ariso n look we ca n g e t b ^ tw een two team s. It lo o k s at about 20 fac­ to rs and co m p ares team s on th o se. T h is year we could b e lo o k in g a l larg e r num ­ b ers of team s in each ca se. T h e nitty-gritt>’ sh e e ts will help im m en sely ."

— J n O ’C o B B i

March 4. 19%

COLLEGE BASKETBALL • 4 i

pray af th e fMTnfle^ofn "stsre. ffiim a fn m r. 'and I was rMflv c o n c tn m r c about his quickness “W e w ere scouting annrm-r kid th ere who we liked a littl*\y cau se he wa* a little biggei and a little q uick er T h e o th e r Kid re in lee, us. though, and Dick started looking at film of Jeff. He liken wnat n* saw and decided to sctnP arsnip him “Obviously, he was a great find " Wisconsin-Green Bay forward H eidem an need n't apologize lur m issing the boat on Nordga.tr *«• T he laces of the men wftc hold veto power over the basketball • did every other college m oui who b othered to notice him ai i i i * mu u( Jeff N ordgaard nave c h a w e d . Dot their scouting re p o n s haw-n High. w here he wax -a liu a m n a n in his class of 47 Too sh o rt to play power forward N o rd g a a rd ’s original plan was to attend Division II N>um Dakota Too slow to play small torwarc1 State on a football sch o larsh ip and bi' a walk-on basketball oiav? A > .

Five years ago. the talent s< outs monitoring Nordgaard'* ev>- %mov* high school q u a rte rb a c k N ordg aard p assed for 4.623 y a r d ' nu] V w ere rresh-taceci college dssiscam co a ch es. touchdow n*, but South D akota Man pa--«T I oday. they are th e seen-u-an noncom m ittal nim uver for th e scho larship and gave it to an­ races of NBA bird dog* lookm e tor that one-uv o in e - q u a rte rb a c k , who w ound ut> Martini, a-thousand unrefined gem or.iv one g am e for i k e school T h e one thing their r e p o n s a g re e on past I h e re w ere offers from o th er Division I! and p resen t is that the 6-7 Kid from Dawson. sch o o ls tor N o rd g aard to be a walk-oi. PasMinn., is n ’t equipped to play gam e at the ketball player, but he n o w calls rh* offer- “a next level. slap in the face " W hen it appeared n«» schol­ N ordg aard has spent the p a s f f i u r sea so n s arship offers would be forthcom ing in basket proving th e college sc o u ts w rong and th eir bail o r football. N o rd g a ard ’s father, joiin. -ug opinions w ere pretty m u ch u n am m o u s. T h e g ested that his son m ight want to prow him ­ next c h o re for N ordgaard is to prove th e NEA self at a ju n io r college and i n again to- a sco uts wrong. scholarship in two years.

S ure. th e NBA is P lanet B asketball and ‘ I -aid no way was I going to go th ro u g h ITV-Green Bay is a distant constellation, but re c ru itin g again." N o rd g a ard savs. “At that th e kind of n u m b e rs N ordgaard is posting in point i was ready to go to a Division Iii scrnxu his se n io r se a so n are cau se (or p ause a n y ­ (non-scholarship) and try out for th e learns w here. C onsid er: E n te rin g th e week. tike evervbodv else. Basically, the whole reN o rd g a a rd w as av e rag in g 23.6 points and c m king p ro c ess was a big m e s s for m t . and I shooting 56.4 p e r c e n t He has been able to ac­ wasn't going to go th ro u g h that again. co m p lish t h a t and in th e p ro c e ss lead the “It ha* always been q u e s tio n s about tm P hoenix. 24-2 overall and 16-0 in th e Mid­ q u ic k n e s s and the level of com petition i w estern Collegiate C o n fe r e n c e on a c u rren t played against. M y ‘n u m b e r s in high - c h u r r .

22-game w inning streak while facing d e fe n s ­ were big. but the com petition wasn't." es specifically d esig n ed to stop him.

Indeed com in g from Daw son (pop Obviously, n o th in g ha* w orked G reen 1.650). about 20 m iles east of S outh Dakota, B ay’s patient hal/-court o ffen se, w hich basi­ can be a draw back for a basketball player with cally fe atu res th re e players setting picks for big aspirations. N ordgaard admits that he n e'­ two s h o o te rs, h a s been a perfect fit for er co m p e te d against a black player in higr.

N ordgaard. school, and D aw so n ’s co n fere n ce. the Jiff)#* The BHO: Nordgaard m ay propel the Phoenix to UW -G reen Bay C oach M ike H eidem an is Sioux, was so tiny that it disb anded befop hithe NCAA tourney for die fourth time in six years effusive in his praise of N ordgaard. who is the senior year w hen four of the sch o o l- m erged m ainstay of th e rookie coach - or cgram . But it is a delicious im n y that Even after landing th** *cnr>iar*hip from DW-Green Bay. Nordgaard; five y e a rs ago. H eidem an. m e n a UW-G r e e n Bay assistant coach un­ still had plenty' of proving to d< But he has answ ered hi* c n iic d er Dick B ennett, voted thum bs-dow n on offering N o rdgaard a schol­ T h e thing about Jeff is that he has im proved every year -inc** n’ ** been here." H eidem an -a v - “Not every player d oe-, you Know+ arship.

■That’s th e truth." H eid em an s a y s , a bit sh e e p ish ly " W r saw — O aji M aaoya#

THEBOOK ON

FROM THE PLAYBOOK OF.

JEFF NORDGAARD

Rick Majerus

SCOl TING REPORT Roy Rogers triggers defense to earn a shot at •the NBA Almost every' year, one of rw<» players c o m e out of n o w h ere to attract the attention of NBA I scouts. This season, such a player i- wreaking havoc upon o p p o n en ts of .Alabama’s C rim son Tide Roy Rogers is his n am e ann d efen se is his gam e In fact. the BttJe-known fifth-year senior is an absolute shot-blocking mantas The for­ m er stringbean — a B-foot-9 I tt> pounder com ­ ing out of Linden (Ala.) High school — ranks third in the nation with 4.8 blocks per game.

In .Alabama's first six g a m e s of F ebruary.

R ogers averaged eight block- He broke Shaquille O 'N eal’s S o u th eastern C onference record with 14 blocks (to go with 15 points and 12 rebounds) and recorded the first triple-dou­ ble in Alabam a history du rin g a 68-55 loss to Georgia on February' IO. In the Crim son T ide’s 76-73 victory over Louisiana state on February Ho reject Rogers has m ade a nam e fo r him self 17. Rogers recorded an other triple-double with due to his shot-blocking exploits.

27 points. IO re b o u n d s and IO blocks. th ree years. Rogers has turned him self into an A lthough h e av erag ed a triple-double as a im pressive physical specim en. Now 6-10 and se n io r in high school. R ogers tound him self 240 pounds. tfoger< is built similar to ( )riand<« b eh in d several talen ted p la y e rs ar A labam a Magic pow er forward H orace Grant and re d sh irte d th e 19S1-02 season R ogers played behind Antonio M el iv e— T h ro u g h work in the uptight room th r pasi

o r - I »»'tivf-r N u g g ets rookie Mar wh«. w a- th* -ro u n d overall pick in th e 1995 (iran) rrv- txi-r tw*# .seasons, and R ogers a v e r a g e >5 oum ta n r Le r e b o u n d - per g aim as a must.; I n ro u g h 23 g a m e s th is s e a so n kug*-r- waaveraging 12.9 points and 9.1 re t* « r d - w;Hi -h ooting 53 p ercent from the field \ <uperb a th le te who ru n s th*- n o i r w»-;;.

R o g e r - 1- a good re b o u n d e r and nas en thus: HMH toi playing defense. He ju m p - we!’, .nu: ne i> a Quick leaper Add in his long antis. -.:u: if)- easy to u n d erstan d why R ogers -s s u e r a: intim idating force on defense I niike many shot blocker- Rogers disc hagreat timing and rarely ge\< in*-- ftrui r o u b l e H- a v e ra g e - 2.3 fouls ann 3o q im u ie - per gam»R o g ers co n tin u e s to im prove uu often-t w h ere ne scores mostly on follow-, d u n s - . l it 12-100* baseline ju m p e rs and s h u n jum p hooks. He must improve as a p asser Ur-* than one assist per gam e) and from the tree-throw line. w h ere his c a re e r snooting p e rcen tag e i59 percent Rogers. 22. has m ade g reat use of hi- extra year in college by earning a b ach elor < degree in m ark eu n g . He is w orking on a second de­ gree in finance. At the rate his stock i- rising with scouts, tho se d e g re e s will com e in handy w nen Roger* d e c id e s what to d<> with rh» m oney he will <oon earn in th e NR a + — D on U vfN T M A i

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GAMES TO WATCH Hampiils afCfsclnnati 9.-30 p.m. ET, TJiwsday, ESPN: Yes, the Tigers are athletic. No the Tigers aren’t physical That’s not apod when facing the brawny Bearcats, who will pound the ball inside en offense and bang Memphis on defense.

Villanow a1 Georgetown 2p.m. ET, Satir: day, CBS: Why's the Big fast considered ' the top conference in me Ration? Watch this game and you’ll find the answer. The Jason Lawsbh-Othella Harrington matchup should ba,fuh.T. ' ..

Mamdutsetts af ConisvlKe, I p.m. ET, Sat­ urday, ABG: Row else wouid/au expect the Minutemertlo end their season than; by: playing a fo u jfttM tf game? The Cardinals, vyho:may have Saniakj Walker bacff, also are battte-testediWich' means they won’t

riyalry.laa^.nattp^d!^^^^

b te -o v e rtJro o ^ o ^ ^ A jg d s atGameron r Indoor S tadliS tM edto the fbre.-TfidiABC^ title doesn't hang in the balance, b u ttes ' still is TV. 1’ ^-ti* « ’ 2N Mi

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March 4,1996 FANTASY GAMES

Smoky Mountain Draft Grand Prize $5,000 Secon d Place $ 2 ,0 0 0 ________ Third Place $ I .OOO

B atten • Hits. BB» SB. Runs, • } point: HRs « 2 prtts.. R B b • 1.5 pots.

SUrL P lttb ert ♦ Wim • 20^potnts; Loeses » -i pontts; I p o rt for each compkie maing pitched (no oredh for pamaJ innings) Rd. Pttchers • Wms »iJ power. Lottcs ■ *5 points; Saves « IO points Send check or Mooey Order to: Note: fo r those teams wnhxng reports (12 reports in all) Smoky MoanUin Draft please tociu^P sn extra SIO v a learn.

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Are cleats that big n •» i ' Pet they are. • the equipment manager and everybody ei*e should know 'he committee wanted »o Tennessee wore cie# •1 than a half-inch send a sin n message to players, coaches and in the Citrus Bowl. th ... muddy, Godequipment managers so that this issue is ad­ lorsaken field, the Yoiimiper* >-<tged Ohio dressed betore the game begins." >tate. 20-14. Someone wtfh ihe Buckeyes got The rule* committee also moved to clarify hold of a Tennessee shoe and discovered the the intentional grounding rule. Referees will .Air Cheats. A few days later. ,m embarrassed treat it sinular lo pass interference. Unless ..

Doug Dickey, the Tennessee athletic direc­ player has a reasonable opportunity" to catchtor. wrote a letter of apology to ( )hio State. He it the Quat ^nai-K will be flagged. blamed the university* supplier tor shipping the wrong cleats.

-Its no question that its an advantage." says Around the nation (georgia Athletic Director Vjnce i >ooley. the Clemson <oarh Tommy West immedi­ chair of the rules committee "parDcularty on a ately suspender the four freshmen players wet field The difference of an eighth of an inch who were charged last week with the rape or so may seem relatively minor, but coaches of a fellow student One of them, linebacker know that a slight benefit in traction on a slop­ Adrian Dingle, averaged 20 snaps per game py field — when compounded play after play — and started one game. He made IO tackles ^an make a big difference in the game." and two sacks. Dingle was being counted The old penalty for long cleats was a time on to fill one of the two slots vacated byout — in other words, no penalty at all. Al­ seniors Patrick Sapp and Andye McCrorey. though Dooley didn’t question Tennessee's Instead Dingle and the others — Chris­ intent his explanation of why the rules com­ topher Rice. Bennie Zeigler and Erie mittee intended to crack down on the cleats Williams, all redshifts — will go on trial lat­ illustrated why Tennessee should have been er this mourn. ♦ embarrassed. “It’s probably an ethical ques­ ItHJti M atsri rovers college football for tion." Dooley says “.Are your cleats in confor­ Newsday mity with the rulebook5The head coach and

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BIHLa 4S

March 4,1996

NHI REPORT

Turgeon has proved to be a true Canadiens captain and co a ch in g staff, but that isn't how it turned out.

“Pierre's kind of quiet and unassum ing, not th e kind of guy you usually think of as a captain." right w ing Mark R ecchi says.

“H e d o e s n ’t have the fiery attitude of a W en d el Clark or Brian Sutter on th e ice. * tim -33?/ J f" But Pierre is the kind of guy the rest of the players respect — and that’s the No. I job of captain."

I was in the Flyers locker room last April WI66E when Turgeon was traded to the Canadiens for Montreal captain Kirk Muller. To a man. the Flyers said the Islanders got the better of the deal because of Muller’s leadership and hen I think of captains of the hard-nosed play. Less than a year later. Tur­ Canadiens, I think of Maurice geon is leading and M uller went AWOL on Richard. D oug Harvey, Jean BeLong Island and forced a trade to Toronto a liveau. Henri Richard and Bob little and more than a month ago.

Gainey, players w ho had fire in their guts Last Saturday. Turgeon assisted on three plenty of Stanley Cup su ccess. goals in the Canadiens' 7-3 victory over the Pierre T urgeon had scored 50 goals and Penguins to give him 29 goals and 41 assists IOO points, but h e was considered soft in big in 59 gam es. T he statistics, how ever, have gam es. In fa c t the only tim e he helped his not been Turgeon's only contribution. team g et past the first round of the playoffs “It may not look like there’s fire in his eyes, in eight NHL season s was 1992-93, when the but I think it’s plain to se e that Pierre Tur­ Islanders m ade it to the conference finals. geon is happy to be home." Penguins Coach But in D ecem b er, w hen th e C anadiens' Eddie Johnston says, “ft’s tough to m eet the locker room w as uneasy b eca u se of Patrick expectations the fans and m anagem ent here Roy’s revolt again st C oach M ario T rem ­ have for a French-Canadian star. You can see blay. T rem blay nam ed T u rgeon captain. by the way h e ’s playing, h e ’s responding to S om e m ight think T rem blay just wanted a the challenge." puppet to b e liaison b etw een th e players

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The net result Scotty Bowman says Mike V e r n o n w ill b e h is N o . I goalie com e playoff am e, but the Red W ings coach m ight have to ch an ge his mind if Chris O sgood con tin ues to sparkle.

O sgood raised his record to a league-leading 29-5-3 with a 2 2 0 goals-against av­ erage in a 5-3 victory over the Maple Leafs last Thurs­ day. He has not lost in-near­ ly six w eek s, co verin g 13 gam es. Vernon's record is 13-6*1. but h e has allowed four goals or more in four of his last six starts.

Not his Fawn Mario Lem ieux m ight take an occasional day off for th e rest of th e season b e­ cause o f his aching back, but don’t be m isled into thinking he will be a part-time player.

Playing on con secu tive nights in Pittsburgh and M ontreal last Friday-Saturday, Lem ieux had three goals and two a s s is ts “If th ere’s a sign o f trou­ ble. I will sit o u t But I still want to win the scoring c h a m p io n s h ip ." L em ieu x

1988. and are 4-53-7 there s a y s T h a t's one of the goals sin ce com in g into the NHL I set for m yself at the start of in 1967. ■ the season . And Tm not go­ ing to ch an ge now .L em ieu x w on ’t m iss the Montreal Forum, which will Maple Leafs Coach Pat be replaced by M olson Cen­ B um s says he would love to tre on March 16. He had one have former captain W endel goal and one assist at the Fo­ Clark back on his team. But rum last Saturday, giving th e Leafs a c e a battle to ac­ him five goals and IO assists quire Clark from the Is­ in 13 gam es. He averages landers with the Central Divi­ better than two points in sion-rival Red W ings and m ost buildings. T he Pen­ guins haven’t won (0-11-2) at i Blackhawks. T he islanders the Forum since O ctober 29. w ould rather build around

Icy bits

w h e n THev* Tost their first five g a r n e r T h a t's w hen T r e m b l a y re­ placed J a c q u e s D e m e rs as coach. T h e n , th e re w a s m o re adversity / d u r i n g th e Roy u p r i s ­ ing. T h r o u g h it all. T u r ­ g e o n h a s s t e p p e d for­ w ard and h a s led the team to an 18-13-6 r e c o r d since h e was casease n a m e d captain.

“T h i s h a s definitely b e e n a special seaso n I for me." T u rg e o n says.

“Playing in front of my family and friends, and S’, ^ / th en b e in g h o n o r e d as captain. But I haven t had time to think about I \ p r e s s u r e I've tried to accept the responsibili­ ty of w earing the C an a­ u a l ’. t v p c diens s w ea ter and put a -positive spin on things, instead of p r e s s u r e “With this b ein g the last s e a so n for the | C a n a d ie n s in the M o n ­ treal F o ru m and the first in the Molson C en ­ tre. I think a lot of peo­ ple are looking for great things trom this team. I know I am."

It certainly sh o w s on the ice. w h ere h e play1* with confidence and d e­ Pierre principle: Turgeon m ay lack the fiery demeanor o f great sire to m ake the key Canadiens captains, but he bum s to succeed with his home team. play lf Pierre T urgeon T h e C a n a d i e n s m i s s e d the playoffs last '• has anything to say about it. the C anad iens s e a so n for th e first time since 1969-70. and will be a formidable opponent when the play­ th in g s didn't look m u c h b e tte r this se a so n offs begin.

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signm ent of blanketing the months, to give the Islanders likes of Erie L n d r o s . Mario a package of young talent for l e m i e u x and Mark M essier Clark. ... Word around the with a lot of success.

The league has half the team s in n eu ro su rg eo n who removed the Atlantic Division bidding the blood clot in the brain of on Oilers defensem an Bryan Kings right wing Tony M arc h m en t before the G ranato believes the proce­ league's trade deadline. it size is im portant in the d u re was done soon enough to prevent- p erm an ent injury game, then the Flames are in trouble b e c a u s e six of their G ra n ato 's h ead hit the b o a r d s du ring a g am e at 12 forwards are u n d er 6 feet.

No one q u e s tio n s the size Hartford on January 25. and h e complained of a headache of T h e o F leury 's heart, but on the plane back to I .os w h en you see him s u r ­ r o un d e d bv .Angeles. He felt well en ou g h * Pat C onacher. to play two days later but Corey Millen. Dean Evason.

Michael N vlander and Kevin then en tered the hospital un Dahl. C algary ’s lack of size J a n u a r y 29 w ith s e v e r e b e c o m e s an obvious prob­ headaches. We're all pulling for you. Tony. + lem. In an attem pt to solve L a r r y W igge h a s co vered that problem , the Flames are trying to obtain left wing h o c k e y f o r T h } SPORTING T o m C h o rsk e from the Sena­ News s i nc e 1969.

Clark, but his big salary and tors. C h o rsk e was a big co n ­ back problems make it a big tribu to r to the Stanley Cup gamble. “W e all know about cham pion Devils last season. those great gam es Wendel n sm m ... Bruins star right wing Cam has." B um s says, “but we W : Neely has a problem with his also know about all of those gam es when he couldn't I right hip socket D octors say i t s likely a c a rry o v e r from bend over because of his his com p ensating for his bad back." Clark's leadership and Vt left k n e e . ... None of the bigtou gh ness is just what the A-** time c e n te r s in the E astern Red Wings need to move one j t C ^ ^ underlSmust C on feren ce is looking for­ step closer to the Stanley have p e m is s i& T fe ward to playing the Capitals Cup. But look for Blackservice is a c c e ^ te fro hawks G.M. Bob Pulford. i in th e playoffs — for one I&uchtone and fotdry^ good reason: dastardly Dale who has been talking about ■ phones.

H u n te r has drawn the a s­ getting a tough left wing for -

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Team without a home Jets left winger Keith Tkach ok sal) has the same fire in his eyes and still ranks am ong the gam e's best pow­ er forwards. But th e re s som ething m issing from his play — and his team 's — as they fight to stay alive in the playoff race.

The Jets are clinging to the eighth and final playoff berth in the W estern Conference, but the Kings.

Mighty Ducks. Oilers and Stars are not out of the race.

Through most of the season, the Jets have fought side by side in the com ers and in front of the net — the battles and skirm ishes that produce victories in the N HL But there comes a point when the one-for-alkandall-for-one. rah-rah mentality needs some positive re­ inforcement. .And that's what the Jets have missed in their final W innipeg season before moving to Phoenix.

The players m ight not adm it it. but the positive re­ inforcem ent they need m ost is the ch eers from fans that can mean a goal or two in each home gam e. But the Jets have played before only two sellout crowds and their lame-duck shell finally is beginning to crack.

They soon might be dead ducks in their s e a s o n in g quest to leave Winnipeg with a memorable season. je t-propelled: Tkachuk has the fire and the desire, but those qualities "We want to have our building sold out every night might not be enough to get Winnipeg one final playoff berth. just like the other teams." Tkachuk says. “But that's not the case. We know the situation as players, that the fans are upset that they 50-50 club are losing a team and that's understandable.

W hen M ario Lemieux and Jafom ir Jagr “Sure it s been a sort of downer, knowing that we've hung in there most of scored their 50th goals in a 5-4 victory over the season without the kind of support the other team s around the league g e t the W halers, it m arked the second time team­ but we can't let that bother us. W e’ve got a job to do — and th a ts win gam es. m ates had reached the 50-goal plateau in the w hether there are 15.000 fans in the seats or 15." sam e gam e. Oddly. Lemieux also was in­ Tkachuk and playmaker extraordinaire .Alexei Zhamnov are the te am s stars volved in the other double-50 game, combin­ and Igor Korolev. Darren Turcotte and Ed Olczyk are role players who have ing with Kevin Stevens on M arch 21. 1993. made solid offensive contributions. The defense may be young and inexperi­ Here is the list of players who have reached enced. but second-year goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin has been nothing short the 50-goal plateau in 50 or fewer games: of sensational.

Season Team The atm osphere in the Jets' locker room is not unlike other locker rooms.

Wayne Gretzky Etkncrton 39 1981-82 T here s a lively banter when they win — an eerie silence when they lose. But 1963-84 42 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton this obviously is not just another team.

44 1988-89 Mare Lemeux PtBstxr&i "T here's a lot of trying that com es out of that room even' night, its just that 1993-94 44 Basten Cam Neely som etim es it doesn't last vvhen we're on the ice." General M anager John Pad­ 46 Buffalo 1992-93 Alexander Mogtoy dock says. “T h e players don't quit, but som e nights it doesn't look like they 48 1992-93 Marc Lemeux Ptebutfi have som ething to play for."

Edmonton -1964-85 Wayne Gretzky 49 Tkachuk and his team m ates want to win one for Winnipeg, but it's becom­ 1990-91 49 S i Lous Brett N J ing more and more difficult.

— L a r r y W ISSE

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Turn WA-T Comment 44-11-4 Wend& Clart would give them a virtual bye into the Cup finals.

Rid Wings I. Ranger* 35-15-11 Richter wit be out two weeks with latest groin injury I 33-17-10 31 ooais by oflensrve-mmded defensemer.

I Avalanche 36-20-4 Coach s concern: ThmJ and fourth lines dont produce enough.

4. Penguin* 35-16-7 Panther* 20-2-2 when Meflanbv scores a goal 5.

30-16-11 8-10-5 vs. Atlantic Division opponents.

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Flyer* Blackheart!

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32-18-11 Amortte-Nchofts-Roeruck brie is carrying offense Only Ottawa has scored fewer than New Jersey's 154 goals Devils 27-25-8 8.

Canadien* 30-24-7 Three strong scoring fanes, but leaky defense 9.

26-24-11 Can Gretzky make a Great difference m S i Louts0 10. Blue* 28-25-7 Paprika s playm ates gets better and better Capitals II. lightning Bradley wakes up team with dosed-door meeting 12.

27 25-8 24-23 14 438 games — Linden breaks team cronman streak Canuck* a Bruin* NeeN is team leader with seven power-pray goals u.

26-25-8 A 6-2 record rn February 25-27-6 IS. Whaler* 25-27-10 Newcomer Gagner has been great but the rest of the team — not Maple Leaf* IS. 17. nam e* 23-28 11 Roberts comeback - 25 points in 19 games .

Sabre* Bumdge oats tryout, sticks and scores 19 goals 24-20-6 a 24-30-4 One or fewer goals rn three of tass four games 19. Jet* Hopes diminish with Arnot! injured - again 21-33-6 20. OBeri 18-30-15 1 •17-5 on road smce November 7 21. King* A league-ieadmq five overtime victories Z I . Mighty Duck* 21-34-5 Modanc prospers with more offensive freedom Star* 23.

18-3M1 Palffy continues to be team s best player 24. Islander* 18-33-8 No other team is do se to 259 goals allowed bv San Jose Sharks 13-41-6 25.

3 6 goals--allowed average before Martm. 2.8 since 12-44-3 Senators 26.

Through Saturday s gam es T hi .sn ttf n v N jvvx NHI Power Poll is determined by TSN Hockey Editor Larry Wigge

No Garden party Who said the Islanders-Rangers rivalry was dead? Even though the Rangers were 37 points higher in the standings, no one was shocked that the Islanders ended the Rangers’ clubrecortkying home unbeaten streak at I £ 0 6 .

T he Rangers had not lost at M adison Square Garden since O ctober 22. when they were defeated by Ottawa, 4-2. Only the 197677 Canadians, who played 34 consecutive home gam es without a loss, the 1970-71 Bru­ ins (27) and the 1979-80 Flyers (26) had com­ piled longer hom e unbeaten streaks.

A real headache This season has been a m igraine — or worse — for Islanders Coach Mike Milbury.

Zigmund Palffy. the team 's leading scorer. is his sixth player to suffer a concussion. One of them . Brett Lindros. is considering ending his career because he has suffered six in less than two seasons. O ther Islanders who have had concussions are Dennis Yaske. Ken B e langer. Todd Bertuzzi and Dean Chynoweth. who has since been traded to the Bruins.

March 4,1996

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THE CLOSER

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The pioneer leagues Seventy-five years after the Negro leagues began, Larry Doby recalls for writer Mark Balk the players who helped bridge a racial gap in history B y L arry D o b y

didn’t know any of the guys or idolize a ballplayer or look up to anybody when I started my ca­ reer. Actually, I hadn’t seen too many baseball games because there weren’t many Negro league teams coming through my hometown of Paterson, N J. In my senior year of high school I saw some Negro league players, but I didn’t model myself after any of them. However, as I came out of high school and started playing with the Negro leaguers, I desperately wanted to be a part of it I loved the way the players went about their busi­ ness with smiles and enthusiasm and energy. I ended up playing about two years in the Negro leagues, and they were good years, years full of fun.

I have seen some of the guys over the years, and it's pretty amazing to think that even though we’re older and we’ve all gone through so many ups and downs in all these years, we still talk about those days and get these great big smiles. I was a very young man when I played Negro league base­ ball, but it was tile kind of baseball that IU never forget I played a couple of months after high school then I went to the service, came out and played for Newark in 1946. And then on July 5, 1947,1 went to Cleveland — the major leagues. It all seemed to go pretty fast The big thing I remember about the Negro leagues is getting paid to play baseball. Honestly, I probably would have played just for the fun of it with­ out getting paid. Another thing that was important to me was getting to play with and against some great ballplayers in their own right — Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Cool Papa B ell Buck Leonard. They were all great guys who could really play the game.

It’s a shame more of them didn’t get a chance to play in the majors.

Buck O’Neil is right when they ask him if he’s upset that he didn’t get the chance to play against the best ballplayers in the world. Buck looks them in the eye and says to this day that he played in the Negro leagues — and who is to say that the Negro leagues didn't have the best ballplayers in the world? I agree with him. I know that if the chance to play would’ve been there, there are many African Americans who could’ve played back then. Bfit that’s the past I loved playing with those folks in the Negro leagues. It was much easier playing with those guys. It was a lot easier just being one of the guys than be­ ing the first African American to go in the American League. I came in only 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson came into baseball with the Dodgers, so I faced the same type of segregation and prejudice.

As far as I was concerned, I was just 18 years old and things in the Negro leagues were incredible. I couldn’t wait to get to the ballpark everyday, riding

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the b u s and all that stuff — I never thought it was that tough. A lo ro f peo­ ple say it was a tough thing, but I didn't think it was that tough becau se you got on the bus and did what you wanted to do. If you wanted to sleep, you went to sleep, lf you wanted to stayawake. you stayed awake and partied with the other guys. Som ebody wants to sing or play card s or whatever, you did that. Let m e tell you. though — the guys who san g were usually the guys who thought they could sing.

Seriously, though, we had a lot of fun ju st being to g e th er and with e v e ry ­ body in the sam e boat, so to speak, we w ere clo se and had good tim es doing the sim pler things. We'd go to Kansas City or Pittsburgh and we'd get the good crow ds and we knew that we w ere doing well. We saw the faces of the people watching us in those stands and we knew they loved w atching us play the gam e of baseball. We played together on the field and hung out as a club a lot o ff the field. .Associate and com m u nicate, that's what we did back then, and we didn't need anyone to break it down for us.

W hen you're having fun, you don’t try o r ca re to figure out why.

It w asn’t as m uch fun at the b e g in ­ ning o f my m ajo r lea g u e ca re e r, th o u g h . A lot of g u y s kept to th e m ­ Hefio, Lany: Doty's sweet sunfig produced selv es. and I was very m uch alone in plenty o f memories. Indians teammate th e beginning. I didn't feel like I could Satchel Paige (bottom left), a Negro league great, congratulates him on a homer in the do an yth in g on that b u s the way I 1954 World Series. could in the N egro leagu es. It's funny how you rem e m b er. I had a couple of Cleveland sco u ts looking at m e at the tim e. In early Ju n e , I went to a ballgam e with a scou t — the Y a n k e e s were playing C leveland — and then Ju ly 4. we w ere playing a d o u b le h ea d e r in Newark. I played in the first gam e, and then the second gam e, my team m ates gave m e a going-aw ay p r e s e n t T h e r e w asn't jealousy. No o n e was saying th in g s like. “W h y not m e ? ” or “W h y is this kid g o i n g s .And that w asn’t be­ c a u se they w ere any le ss com petitive. It was b e c a u se they cared and som e o f them could s e e hope in a kid with so m e talent goin g to the big leagues.

T h e y w ere happy for m e and wanted to show m e they w ere proud, telling m e to go for i t I got on the train to C hicago and signed a contract on Ju ly 5. It was clear-cut.

You knew what you had to do. lf you played w e ll you stayed and you got your ch a n ce. If you didn't play w e ll you w eren't going to be on the team. I'm happy the way things worked out b e ca u se if you went through the m inors, you'd be going through the sam e p roblem s and the sam e segregation but without be­ ing at the very b est level. Going from the Negro leagues to Cleveland was a good thing for me. I also p referred not going to the m inors, going through m ore and m ore towns w here I wouldn't be able to stay at the sam e hotels or drink at the sam e water fountains as the other guys. I went straight from the Newark E a g le s to the Cleveland Indians. T h e r e s t as they say. is history. +

Larry Dotty, who broke the color line in the American leag u e with the Indians, played in the majors from 1947 through '59. Mark Balk is a freela n ce writer from Floral Park, jV. Y

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