The sporting news 05 13 1996

Complete NBA and NHL playoff coverage MAY 13,1996 / $2.50 ($2.95 Can.)

SU R G E O N G E N E R A L 'S WARNING-. Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health.

3 May 13,1996

GOVEIA STORY The comeback trail

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They were gone. We m issed them . Now. Michael jo rd an and Mario Lemieux are back—and they're TSN's top award winners in the NBA and N K L

VOICES 7

Dave Kindred; The winner is... Grindstone — in a photo finish.

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John Smallwood: Kobe Bryant’s decision to bypass coDege and enter the NBA draft was a family affair.

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Letters

BASEBALL 18

Ho longer a Loner Ranger: T rving to get his career

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back on tra c k slugger Juan Gonzalez is saying and doing all the right things.

Bob Nightengale: T he Reds are far from red h o t but because they are in the m ediocre N .L Central Division they are still in contention.

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Baseball te id e r Baseball Notes

FOOTBALL 38

Bob Glaoben Passing totals keep going higher and higher, so can the quarterbacks really be as bad as m ost NFL experts say they are?

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N a Notes Ivan Maisel: \^1io’s calling signals for Notre Dame this week?

HOCKEY IS 45

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NHI Awards A new Ron Hextalt? T he som etim es combustible goaltender is trying to lead the Flyers back to the Stanley Cup f in is and also be a role model to his kids.

Larry Wlggo: Its star time in the .NKL playoffs.

NHI Insider

FROM THE EDITOR

BASKETBAU 18 48

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NBA Awards Still standing: Patrick Ewing isn't the player he once

The players’ choice

was. but he rem ains undaunted in facing age. critics and the possibility of another second-round Knicks elimination.

Shaun Powell: Magic Johnson and his Lakers team m ates need lo close a big generation gap.

Recognizing superior perform ance with awards— and the attendant controversy those decisions engender—has becom e the happy com m erce of sports fans. When .Albert Belle-w-as voted the Player of the Year

by The S porti.vo N ews but .Mo Vaughn w-as voted the M ost Valuable Player in the American League by baseball writers, it set off all so rts of argum ents.

Belle correcth' recognized the vote as a snub bv w riters who resented his lack of cooperation.

I can’t imagine any controversy will develop, though, over the choice of Michael Jordan as the NBA Player of the Year and Mario Lemieux as the NHL Plaver of the Year. Senior Writer

NBA Insider Mike DeCourcy: Five reasons why Kobe Bryant made the right decision to turn pro

DEPARTMENTS 5 52

Openers The Sports M arketplacr. A treasury of products and services.

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Pretty in pink, the Bulls’ DENNIS RODMAN is dressed for success while signing copies of his new book ’Bad As I Wanna Be’ before the second round of the NBA playoffs.

The Closer: Gail Goodrich rem em bers the record-setting 1971-72 Lakers.

Cover photo o f M a rio L em ieu x by T S S a n d M ichael Jordan fr o m T S S files.

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play at the level he thought he could. I don’t think he ' would've come back."

Penguins coach Eddie ; Johnston says 'Thal'-'-the bottom line with great players Uke Jordan, too. lf y he would've come back and y been or if he couidn't get that feeling back ’A-here h r wa- the best player in the world—player'^ like that back of f " U hen Knisley asked John-^ton it U ’mieux was satisfied with hi'^ play. the resp o n '^ was telling "[would have to think he is Everybody el^- is But sometimes, they have different standards They do things nofanly else can "

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To s u b s c rib e to T H E S P O R T IN G N E W S o r m ake a c h a n g e of a d d re s s lf you are an e x istin g s u b s c rib e r, see P a g e 53.

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Michael Knisley's story about the super twosome (page IO) chronicles not only their spcctaodar play bul also the moiivaiion thai drove each after a vear awav from his game Remarkable sp ectacu lar... extraordinary. .Al) those words apply, but they hardly Rawlings do justice to the athletjc poetry we now consider, well, routine ■‘.Michael Jordan has the greatest wealth of talent of any athlete kl the NB.A. but he's also the greatest winner." Pistons coach Doug Collins sa>'s. in unbridled admiration. Capitals coach Jim Schoenfeld is fin ally taken by lem ieux; ‘T h e tag they put on him.

'Super Mario.' is well-suited “ The discussion of w hether Michael and Mario could come back ended several m onths ago. at least for most oi us. "lf (Mario) couldn’t come back and

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CAUGHT ONTHE FLY

The Not As Big As It Was This Season East Forget the ball: Fly's always juiced ■ I l k ’ Hip Bast thumped chest last year s'iyjn' it was back, but last Flv saw. four of five o* this here all-conference first-teaml) play tor pay next season K C - Danya Abramsli be the lifeguard for this evaporating talent p<K»l. Even league HQ is hard*pre<sed to spin this one to the pius side when the spies ask who next season's top squad'll be "Boston College .. probably" says one PR. drone Make that Nova. sav< another Could be arn of 12 teams (Notre I tame is locked in the basement) Fly s rank response ishaddup’) None of the above. ^ ■ Speaking of Big Hast Hey, '» talent, if nothing else Allen didn’t you used to be ! Iverson s stretch at Georgetown Nerved its Lee Smith? purpose. One N BA exec tells the Spies that Iverson's past legal problems are "ancient historv.” Call it the Christian Peter principle. ‘T h e morality of a player generally only comes into play when there s a public-relations angle in it.” the exec says.

■ Fly's Top 5 or “Welcome. J.R . Phillips: Pay No .Attention to the Previously First Sacked": I. Gregg *-' 'N Jefferies; 2. Gene Schall: 3. Kevin Jordan: A. Benito Santiago; 5. Jon Zuber.

■ Magic says he wants to come back next season as a point guard:-yeah, and Ply wants to come back as Hemingway. Describe Johnson's play in the Lakes-Rockets series in a word? Painful. He was Mays with the Mets. Johnny U. with the Chargers. All vs. Holmes. Miles of smiles can't hide it. Older, slower and heavier is no way to make a re-mark in this here league, bay-bee.

■ Fly hears W illiam Floyd is settin' the comeback alarm dock ahead as he rehabs from last October's ligament-injury hat trick. His P C L M C L and AC L were stitched back together and team sawbones -posted an October to November return date (which is bad news if you saw the Niners' rave running play last season: "Scrubeenie off-tackled. Floyd tells the Spies that the opener is the targel.

■ Hey-yo, Fly hears that when Jersey shaved its Beard. it was only the first step. How bad re things in the swamp' Formerly Most Powerful Dave's given the Nets a Stern warning: "(ret yer house in o rd e r... pronto" to clear up whether this here team's got the FSB O (s) sign up in the

its verrry clear that he Ukes ‘hi- plan. Sam I Am "iT* decisions xhula> ss making are lor the entire o i .Vhm hearing them first-hand. and Fir. having input" ■ Fly NTs where the Bosnx have proved 'hat «»*' Lt^ baii adage "Va can': tire the players mr die manager /ti*; yet. bu* va can fire.ihe pitching coach. ever. though ii*- didn’t do anything wrongi " ■ Mo* first recruit;,a chi"- tor new fVpprrdmr coach Lo Romar ii:-: war. t;i the high m boo! ki<L -dart gum' mere

By I iv - count ‘ ^haciciupx ;h,u ^ Tremaine Fowlkes. Jelani Gardner and omm A Givens a caichm a Wave Cap Badly in need »»t .* talent allusion. esjjmaiK aper Shareel Adur-Rahim take- his talent NBA 'ide ■ Dodgers pitcher Ramon Martinez began in-* rehab assignment ut Nm Ammu- over the weekend, and FK hears the control problems Pete Astacio lough! last year are ba-nck Bul the two together and Astacio'< lookin' at a one*wav ducat to the pen as soon a** Martinez is healthy ■ Fly xre<s where Bar-ryl. Dar-ryl ha- signed ,m with th* st. Baal Niim> (insert N e w b e rry . Nun* joke h e m

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Worthwhile deeds of professional athletes wives often go unnoticed That's why ft's so great that we can take time out to pay tribute to one such group Through such charitable endeavors such as silent memorabilia auctions, Christmas tree raffle, celebrity cookbook and dining extravaganza. San Jose Sharks wives raised $60,118 for Next Door: Solutions to Do­ mestic Violence. The wives also have offered to assist needy clients at Next Door in order to show their aware­ ness in community development in San Jose.

“We selected Next Door as an organization to sup­ port because of a sincere desire to assist women and their families that have been subjected to the terrible reality of domestic violence,” says Jody More, wife of Sharks defenseman Jayson More. "W e feel organiza­ tions that serve victims of this crime get somewhat overshadowed and know that whatever we do has a valuable impact on Next Door and the women and fami­ lies that they serve.”

Credit the Sharks wives with an assist as important as any recorded by their husbands.

L*s> ee. at 3 K p er m o n th . F ly fig u re s is h .id d u i)') it'ri ta k e on Jo n m o n th *4 tor h im to c a tc h up l)n ‘ hat c h ild -f

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In David we tru s t The Sets have heard from tm high— the commissioner himself— that they had better get their act together front yard of its Joiseylands home.

■ th e Spies say Q B Trent Diller s already seem' the benefits of the n ew regime in Tampa Bay. O ilier* taken to n ew offensive coordinator Mike Simla like a Rue to water and

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the ever-deepenin' pool-o-talem in this year's (Iran But Isiah's gutta figure oui what s happenin' with Tracy Murray, whose pact lias expired, and Oliver (The Really. Really. Really Big 0) Miller. who opted outta the last two years of his <2 mil per deal Of the players available, the Spies say Toronto’s most interested in Marcus Camby. Stephon Marbury. Ray Allen. Kerry r ** Kittles or Allen Iverson. .■ Hey-yo. no matter how this here series comes out. Je ll Van G u n d y's gotten the dreaded . volt*-*^-confidence from Patrick. F ly 's guessin (shaddup'i Dave Checketts. saddled with an aging team on a downward suh-lide. will be lookin' tor more of a drawing card for when the Bulls' tail lights start to facie outta sight. Give him this Van Gundv does iii the bill for an easy scapegoat when ‘his hero team goes south next season ■ Finally, the >pie> sav Demn - beer, verm impressive in Cowboys minicamp ... as a WR. His routes r* cornin' round. which could be key if Mike Irvin ends up in the slam Coach Barry’s analysis of Prime Time ‘He ' like the Roadrunner beep-beep. varooooum " Gee. Coach, and F L thought you were watchm game tape* on that TY

We’ll see you in court action stems from New England is girding (‘vents transpiring for a sensational malpractice in the hours alter suit that could fill manv Lewis' initial col­ hours of “ Hard Copy." not to lapse. W hile lew is mention Court TA’, when was under the care and if it comes to trial. of 12 specialists Donna Harris-Lewis. hired by the Cel­ widow of Celtics star Reggie tics. le w is ' wife Lewis, is suing Dr. Gilbert ordered that he be Mudge and colleagues for “carelessly, unskillfully and • transferred, in the Reggie ruckus: H c m s - U i t i lauvuti middle of the night. negligently” treating her could.ran tabloid-media dames. to another hospi­ husband before his death. that would a llo w him to tal. where he came under Lewis died at age 27 after play again. U*wis had collapsing Ju ly 27.1993.

J M udge'scare. begun to work out lightly The Celtics specialists while shooting baskets at before his death. An autojjsy diagnosed Lewis as the Brandeis University revealed L e w i s ' heart was. suffering from a life­ gym. He had collapsed in a indeed, severely damaged. threatening heart condition. playoff game between the .Among several tabloidBut Mudge disagreed, Cehics and Hornets three inflaming issues to be saying Lewis suffered from months before. considered by a jury is the a benign fainting condition The odd twist in the legal

Openers compiled by Paul Attner. Bob Mille. Carl Montz and Larry Wigge

that L wis’ heart was damaged by cocaine His widow ct,Heeled SIT million in death b e n e f it s ? based on L'W i> ‘ - dying til natural causes.

5 .Allegations,it . cocaine use surfaced following his death, and although a special commission at Northeastern University ruled in .April that there was insufficient evidence to prove used cocaine during his student years there. Mudge can be expected to revive the issue. p o s s ib ilit * .

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6 • OPENERS

The Sporting News

SOUND BflES

Go: anv good ideas about how to use a lew very large buildings surrounded by acres of asphalt7 it so there are officials across the country waiting to hear from you The problem you see stems from the new arenas that have been built, are under construction or rn the planning stages All the buildings are replacing existing facilities So what to do with the old Structures7 Here are some of the old barns and what has happened to them

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ARIZONA VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM

Capacity: 15.000 Opened: 1964 Replaced by: America West Arena Current Status: Active arena.

Current Status: Used for shows and minor league sports: barely

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RICHFIELD COLISEUM Capacity: 20.000 Opened: 1974 Replaced by: Gund Arena Current Status: Hasn t been used

PORTLAND MEMORIAL ARENA

since Gund opened two years ago Possible uses: prison, gambling casino, even a warehouse for a home shopping channel.

Capacity: 12.900 Opened: 1960 Replaced by: Rose Garden

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Capacity: 18.500 Opened: 1929 Replaced by: Kiel Center Current Status: Empty, ideas

stability questionable

hosting minor league sports events, but running rn the red

ST. LOUIS ARENA

about turning it into a sports shopping mall or an equestrian center haven’t panned out. and now it could be torn down That was the fate of Chicago Stadium, once the United Center opened in 1994. Now the stadium is a parking lot.

Proud Davey Word from tho Cincinnati Enquirer is thai tho Bengals in general and cooch Dave Shula sjvciiicaliv wore none too pleased wit by br new billboards that a classic-rock radii^-tation put up around town OKSmo-t ot the boards advertising W{ )F\ w>^* all right The one showing recomb deceased comedian George Burns with a tagfreading. "Stairway to Heaven." passed muster .Another featuring Mayberry Floyd the Barber and a lip ­ reading. "Pink Floyd." was OK ,'t wav billboard No Mthat got thing'stirred up it featured-Shula and a tag reading. "Fortunate N»n Cnvdence Clearwater Revival" Jacor which own* FOX 92. not -<> coincidentally also owns WUKY and WI W winch carrs Bengal?* gamoIn-idrr- s;i\ there was a durrs rn caJK iron! Brutal-’ bo--r-. and the board came down Bengal- i’K bos-Jack Brennan >ay> he doesn t know about that. but " w e thought it wa- a cheap shot"

*1! yon don’t get the job done, io o H see people disappear a ra ra ! here U te M M U or Barid C oppered.”

Red Sox outfielder Alex Cole, on switching from goggle­ rs glasses to wire-nm ■spectacles: i figured Boston has more colleges than any

We heard it through the grapevine

Thts billboard’s lifespan bd a major snag after the Bengals put rn a call to the company thai oums WOFX as well as the stations that broadcast d * team 's games

The Sultan of Shots: Hosum lost a pitcher who moved to right field Ird

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• i comes Goetz from oui of led deid

‘The Curse of the Convicted Subway Shooter’

New Non* . ?t\ -r-irirn:. dfcnii". 1*■las* j mi? with a f»u-ion-iu-r<: -Hicntifu firm ‘A r u

got Ba I v Ruth.

ai Ii lakt ttcrnhard -u\- I Hoiiman. win* r»-prrv:i«rd t ..«•[/ m a cml

The Angels' Chuck Finley, on Charlie Sheen's failed effort one night to catch a homerun ball by buying all the tickets in a left-field section of Anaheim Stadium:

Dolphins wide receiver Randal Hilt on new coach Jimmy Johnson:

if Webster (M o,) University freshman reliever Ed Doney looked a little rusty on the mound this season, he had a good excuse. After all. his last appearance in organized baseball before this season came nearly 30 years ago.

Doney. 44. a professional jazz saxophonist who has toured with blues artist

toting git k .tUrr (I .»•{/.

“Ifs Dot Bee a deer or nothing.”

“ He short! have bought tickets when I was Ty jmuuug.

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Baht -Ruth lur Br -ruhard Uh-!/* An attorney ’linked •hi -iugg«- ’a i lh th* gun-

Quirky Cubs pitcher Turk Wendell, on deciding against keeptngthe ball as a keepsake after recording the first save of his career.

-tut in which in- wa-ordered Ii* pa\ M.. million to one of lour men he vhot in ISM <toe!/, an eiivtronics -jwiai]-* mn-i pay lo jiercen:» in s wage- tor the nest J 1’ war- to the plaintit! f/or-17 -sly- fir J- inning to Bo-ior. tor the "serenity" ut New England lite Wait until he tune- into shirts talk radio

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School's In: Doney learned a thing or two as a freshman.

Albert King, is seeking a degree at Webster to become a music teacher.

He played high school ball in St. Louis in the late 1960s and decided to try out for the Division IU Gorloks after keeping his arm in shape playing fastpitch softball over the years.

He didn't show Nolanesque heat but "we were kind of intrigued by his arm." assistant coach Jim Wilson says. Doney, who his teammates called “Pops” until he shaved his beard and the)’ went to a more gentle "Uncle Eddie." made six appearances this season and finished 0-1. with a 4.66 ERA. Wilson says Doney, who will return next season, learned an overhand curve and got better at changing speeds as the season went on.

We’re assuming chin music was already a part of his arsenal.

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Ahoy ploy: CeboUos wanted no part o f this showtime.

Man overboard Officials for the Orange County Boat Show last week at the .Anaheim Convention Center were looking for a boating expert to take part in the grand opening, so they invited the Lakers' Cednc Caballos.

Caballos, you ll remember, went AWOL this season to pout over his playing time Destination the calming water- of Lake Havasu in .Arizona.

Boat show officials, by the way. didn't hear back from Ceballos.

dtp in the com by, so ii most hate more smart people. So I wanted to look more intefflgect” Ravens wide receiver Andre Rison, reflecting on the relentless booing he re­ ceived in '95 from Cleveland fans after shouting expletives at hecklers: after me Bes “ They came ca Glint Eastwood.”

Twins second baseman Chuck KrfObfauch. on the troubled state of major league pitching: “ totters are getting stronger and better and wotting year-rotmd to improve, and there are pitching problems anyw here you took. And to think we’ve got expansion to two yearc. ifs going to be scary."

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Weaving a magical maze at 40 mph Prtsrtnot A CEO bIHof Lxeartfrs Editor Directer at Crapfclcs KsooQlog Editors

N< nc«JS — N 'V j o n r 0 y awi>-v;s $lPv<7 - -«xt 3.1r-O'.

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to lstte rt Managing Editors Cootrttottog Editor Senior Editors

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Stat U t Ice! Editor Assistaal Editors

KINDRED

Ari Olmctors

A liciie man on a big horse sees a blur of colors through a prism of dust. Halfway home in the Kentucky Derby, the little man ? named Je rry Bailey saw that and j more. Mostly, he saw the north ; ends of horses going south.

I "M ight have been 14 or 15 of i them,'' Bailey says, "but it looked ' like 114 or 1*15."

A little man then hopes he can • find a path through the ma2 e. He j hopes that and more, though the \ rest goes unspoken. The rest is Nose job: Bailey and Grindstone (left) barely caught Cavonnier at the wire to complete their am azing dash I just pan of the job. Its the part entered an unheard-of five horses. One competitor said Lukas had j where the little man hopes he doesn’t get hurt. lost touch with reality. .Another sniffed that Ijjk as does whats best He moves a big horse at 40 mph in tight traffic where a fender bender can leave him in pieces. .Anyone who does this gracefully i for Lukas. not whats best for the horse Well. What could be better for Grindstone than to win the does more than just ride. He does a work of art.

Kentucky Derby3 Lukas has trained the colt since he hit the ground The artist as rider, je rry Bailey, saw the colors and the dust and running. Three of this Derby's first six finishers were Lukas I the hundred or so horses that by their movements create thousands products. Now the trainer of successive Derby winners, and three in I of paths opening and closing, the geometry changing as it is created. all. Lucas also has stretched the implausible to the unimagined; HD : a kaleidoscope spun by a madman. horses have won the past six Triple Crown races.

Though he could not know a way out of the unknowable. Je rry If this man sounds too busy to sleep, he is So he takes six-minute : Bailey entered the maze because its what riders do. These little men naps. Sometimes, sleeping in. he takes eight minutes off. “ H e * the and women, so delicate they seem made of china, put themselves at most focused guy Iv e ever <een." says \ risk. Race-trackers talk of spills. Laymen cai} it Grindstone's owner. 78-yea'r-old W illiam T • falling on your head.

‘On the streets of Paris, Young, who made big money selling peanut As he entered the maze. Bailey faced two butter and makes more money racing hor**** decisions: “W hen you're going to move and Frenchmen stop their strolling. with Lukas. “ If you call Wayne on Christmas j who you’re going to follow." morning at 4 in the morning, h ell be at the He meant there would be a time he would Drums beat in Africa, spelling barn. And that’s no rumor, thats fact.” i ask his horse. Grindstone, for more speed. .As remarkable as the trainer is. he did not .And he would decide which horse ahead had out a message. Tibetan lamas carry Grindstone for the mile and a quarter the best chance of leading him through open­ Instead, the colt carried a little man on hi* ings in the maze. stop turning their prayer back, a little man looking for a way through What a thing, the Kentucky Derby. “A the crowd. shared delusion." the television broadcaster Je rry Bailey had made his decisions. He Hevwood Hale Broun called it. On the first wheels, and successors to would move now. He would follow- Prince of Saturday in Maw Broun said, the delusion be* Thieves. When vou’re behind 114 hordes, or comes epidemic: “ On the streets of Paris.

Chairman IVlao put down their even 14. with a minute to run. there s neither Frenchmen stop their strolling. Drums beat time nor distance to waste .And Bailey <aw in .Africa, spelling out a message. Tibetan chopsticks. They all ask, “ Who Prince of Thieves, with Pat Day up. as a lamas stop turning their prayer wheels, and quick horse who would find a way clear • successors to Chairman Mao put down their won the Kentucky Derby?” ’ 'T h e timing was right.” Bailey says "anc' chopsticks. They all ask. W h o won the Ken­ Pat looked like he had quite a bit of horse . tucky Derby r “ — Heyv/ood Hale Broun I thought he had the be*t chance to get me Even Dick Vitale came to Louisville to find into the stretch." Sounds simple Is not. out who won. You might have heard the It s an artist's work. The nation’s leading rider a year ago. winner oi . excited noise of a man falling from a tall building. That was the IO consecutive aboard the sensational Cigar. Bailey at 38 has won more 1 basketball savant telling George Steinbrenner’s co lt Diligence. “You than 3.000 races. Lukas calls him "the best posiuon rider in the world." have some big orders, earn in g that Yankee pride. That’s Ruth and Stalking the leaders. Bailey and Grindstone moved on the rail. ^ Mantle and DiMaggio. You're ready. bay-beeee.r" (Diligence finished Then they moved a step right to pass a tired horse*. Three times thee ninth.) moved to the rail and away. each move made without hesitation, each .And one night rn a fancy restaurant who showed up but Stan Musiai. ‘Thirrv-three Derbies in a row for me." Stan the Man said. made so gracefully that a line tracing Grindstone's path would consist Then. from his pocket the greatest Cardinal of all produced his of long and sweeping curves— until it was time to win the race. famous harmonica. He asked everyone to sing along as he played the Then. Bailey would follow no longer. He moved outside Prince ut sacred hymn of the bluegrass. "M y Old Kentucky Home.”

Thieves and inside the tiring leader. I'nbridled’s Song. Down the .As to who won this Derby, the place to start is with Wayne Lukas. home stretch. Bailey and Grindstone passed I'nbndled’s Song N o w who is either the best trainer alive or a shameless shill who does only thev had oniv Cavonnier to catch, one horse and not a hundred Now what a real trainer would do given the same exorbitant piles of the little man s whip beat a tattoo into his colt'* left flank N o w thev owners’ money. had it won. ♦ Not that Lukas much cares what anyone thinks. Doing it his way D a v e K in d r e d is a c o n trib u tin g w r it e r fo r T ie r >?< w .: s ' V a for IT years, his horses have earned $15*i million. For thi* Derby, h r 9

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8 • VOICES

Tile Sporting News

Life of Bryant Kobe Bryant’s decision to skip college for the NBA comes under criticism, but his stable family life may be the best preparation of ail

John SMALLWOOD

life \icariously throutrh his son.

Pam Bryant laughs at that. ’ lf that w ere true, then Kob<- would g o to La Salle for two years, find a wife, have three kids and raise a family." sh e says. “71131 w*as Joe's dream, and it's worked out prom' well for us.

"Joe played in the NB.A He doesn't have to live through anvbodv." .Ai) Joe Bryant did wa.s use the resources he had as a for­ mer .KBA player to gather the information needed lo help h is son m ake a m ore in­ formed decision.

Isn t that what a father is supposed lo do’ “I’ve been fortunate in the sen se that I ve been around and know the water he's about to tread." he says. *There are a lot of parents w ho would have no clue.

"I don't think you can fault m e for having an understand­ ing of w h a ts goin g on. Iv e talked to alt kinds of people, and I ve touched a lot of bases. I think Kobe is luck\' to have som eon e who's been there.

"Hey. I would have liked to have seen Kobe go lo school tor four years and g o lo Har­ vard But is that realitv ? Would h e have stayed in sch ool for one or two years? T his was Kobe's dream. T his is his life. so it was his decision." \\'hat this really co m es down to is Joe and Pam Bryant raised their children to be individuals. They have faith that their parenting will lead their children lo make correct choices.

Mav'be in a societ)’ that has becom e so c w n ic i about the strength of the family, we just find it loo hard lo com prehend that the Brv anrs have raised a child who is equipped to deal with the things h e will face at such an early age.

Obviouslv. the Brvants think di/ferentJv. Neither parent has any apprehension about the pitfalls of placing their 17-year-old son into the fast-paced, harsh and som etim es cruel world of professional sports. ’^^'ith Kobe, nothing really con cern s me about this decision." Pam Bryant savs. ’ Like any parent. I have con cern s about drugs, alcohol and fast wom en, but kids are rxpos<‘d to that in high school. ’ But Kobe's a well-balanced young man.

He's always staved focused on what is miporiant. I don't worry with Kobe or any of my children, because we have a good family loundaiion. He's alwa>-$ going to have support from us. I don't have any doubt in my si>n. No doubt, just support and a lot of love."

Joe Bryant d escrib es his son as ’ 17 going •

A> htT vdunptsi child sloiK) up rn the sam e wiiere he had enjoyt'd som e oi the bt'si m om em s of his youth and then made a dtvision that strip him of the n s t OI it. I\'im Bryant jjrippt'd her husband Joe's arm a little tiphler “I have dtvidtMd to skip coliepe and take my lakmts to the N B .\" Kobe Bryant. 17. said "I know 111 have to w-ork extra hard and I know this is a hip step, but I can do it "li‘> the opportunir>- of a lifetime. Its time lo seize It while I'm youn^i I don’t know it I can reach the ^;tars or the mo^m Ii I tall off the clit!. NO be it “ IVide'' Joy' .Apprehension' O oh l*am Bryant knows for sure what th<* prevalent em otion was when her ann(iunced last w«»k he would attempt the astronomical leat) trom hich school to the NB.A “We wrre jjoinjc to support him no matter what he choM- to do.*' sh e savs “\H"helher ii was collepe or iiomvr to the NB.A w e’re a)wa\ s ^join.i! to supixirl him. Thai's what we always do Tliis wa> Kobe's decision He has j^oaU. and we n* always here to support him I don’t know ii Kobe Bryant made the nphi choice Tim e 'Mil tell It he did or didn t ise e pa^e •Si*

Tile only thing I do know is that Jot* and f’am Bryant care a heck of a lot more about the w i‘ll-bt'ing of their son than you. me. or anvbodv els** NL'ho cares to venture an opinion. To lite Br>*ants. concern about their children's future isn’t part of a sliding scale of sport items.

I 'nlike m ost of us. they were interested in their son's lite long before he becam e the best high school player in the country It's the sam e interest ihev take in their daughters— Sharia. 20. and Shaya.

"No matter what. my family com es first."

Pam Bryant says. “I don't care what this one or that one thinks. People can feel and say what they want. but the last lim e I checked. where I live there are five m em bers in my laniilv T ile' c<»me first That's what all of thi> IN about " -Maybe the B r\an ts could have talked tfieir Min out lit thiN. convincL'd him that a couple \ rarN of college would serve him better in tact, considering son ie of the criticism .lur Bryant ha< com e under, it probably wtuild have been easier for (bern to have {lone tliat He ha*‘ b<‘t*n accused of lorcing K<»hr into the \H.A. tjj Irving to relive hiN »

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Soaring to new b s ig h ts : Bryant

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(above right) is skipping college and heading s t r a i t fo r the N B A It may or may not be the right decision, but he has the blessing p f hts parents. Joe and Pam.

i I right decision. I don’t know if .

X his parents should have I persuaded him to do otherw ise, c But I do know the Bryants have raised, c a r ^ for and 5 nurtured their son for 17 years.

I T hey want the best for him. ’ .My wife and I have been ^ married for 22 years." Joe Bryant sa>*s. *AVe’ve been through ups and downs, but that s a part of life. Bul the m ost important thing is that we wanted to raise our Idds lo be stronger and I better people than we are. ’So many tim es you hear parents say. I want my kids to have to work as hard as I do.' I don't v%*ant m y kids to have to crawl. I crawled. I want my kids lo start out walking. so that when they pass the know ledge to th eirk id s. th ey ll be running." ♦

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on 25." H e says the fact that Kobe spent most of his formative years living in Italy has given him a maturity and life experience beyond that of others his age. ’ Living in Italy w as the key." h e says.

T h e maturity and responsibility our kids learned over there. T he people v^-ho have m ade negative com m en ts really just don't know Kobe. H e's a super kid. and he know s what he vvant? lo do and can accom plish."

I don't know if Kobe Brvant m ade the

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John S m a llw o o d is a c o lu m n ist /b r the P hilad elp hia D a ily S ew s.

VOICES • 8

May 13.1996

I

VOICE OF THE FAN

• D ave’s w arning before she ieft the C h ey en n e \ airport.

R o n a ld F ed o rc h a k St. I j j u i s

Bullfeathers

‘How to beat the Bulls?

It can’t and won’t happen. The article should have been titled, “How not to be embarrassed by the Bulls.” ’ B e n P eri m a n J a m e s v ille , S Y.

rn tifr ie d n a n I. co rn

Let’s play two!

I a g re e that the baseball season s ta rts a tad early and en d s a bit late. but instead of cutting the season back to 154 g am es (TSN. .April 29). why not sim ply sched u le m ore d o u b leh ead ers, th e re b y sh o rte n in g the length of the season while keeping the sam e n u m b e r of g am es and providing an extra b o n u s to the fans in the process*' R o n Q re itze r L y n d h u r s t. S . J. ro n g ritz. aol. com I re m e m b e r waiting until mid-July to see . th e traditional C ubs-D odg ers d o u b leh ea d er at W rigley Field. Even th o u g h I once had to stand th ro u g h both gam es. I would still re tu rn . T h is was always a treat for the fans, and it justified th e exorbitant costs of adm ission and concessions.

I have grow n up with this tradition, and if anyo ne w ants to trim a few g a m e s off the sched ule. I would suggest. " L e ts play two'** J im P r e s s e r C hicago ja p u ic g ra d @ a o l. com

Steel trap, net attain Banner moment T h e April 22 Closer. “T a k in g a stand for th e flag." about Rick M onday re sc u in g our national colors is now fram ed and h ang in g on th e wall in m y den. H ats off to Steve M arantz and T h e S p o r t in g N e w s for re m in d in g u s of an o th er tru e act of patriotism by a m e m b e r of o u r national pastim e.

R o y H . W allis Jr. S a n ta R o sa . C alif.

Dad doesn't always know best It is a ra re occasion w hen I a g re e with Dave K indred w h o leh e arted ly and unconditionally. However, his article “Let’s let kids be kids" (TSN. April 29) m ade m e see that Mr. K indred and I are on th e sam e page with re g ard to th e shaping of children by so m e parents.

My 4-year-old recently told m e h e was going to play T-bail. However, w hen it cam e time to take the field h e b acked out. I was a n g ry to have m issed w ork to see this I special event that never took place. But I n ev e r p u sh ed him to play o r punished him for not playing.

C hildren often lose in terest in th in g s they are forced to do. P arents should spend time doing what their kids w-ant to do.

At any rate, that evening we cam e home*— and had a great tim e playing ball in o u r yard C h risto p h e r L R uss S h a llo tte . S C. I just read Dave K indred's article on letting kids play, Dave once again delivered a high-pow ered m essage. We need to en c o u rag e our children to enjoy th e time they can play. We do not need to see an o th er 13-year-oid tennis player or figure skater. A 17-year-old is m o re p re p ared to handle the em ouo nal and physical d e m a n d s of his or h e r sport, i just wish Jessica could have read

Now that th e draft is over, we can all look forw ard to the 1996 NFL season. T h e S teelers h u n g a sign in T h re e Rivers last y ea r that said T h r e e M o re Y ards.” Now. that Neil O 'D onnell has left for “g r e e n e r ” pastu res, (green as iii m oney and the je ts ). what will the slogan be this year? T h r e e Less Interceptions?”

J a so n R e in h a r t C o n n e a u tv ille . Pa. j 6 S 6 l2 0 F ® e d in b o ro . ed u

My old Kentucky home Finally. I have th e opportunity to e x p re ss my opinion and feelings about the people of K entucky (TSN. .April 8).

W hile on T enn essee-K en tu ck y m an eu v ers with th e U.S. A rm y in F e b ru a ry -M arch 1944.

I found out first-hand w hat th e people in that a re a of th e c o u n try are like. D uring problem s, w hich included blackouts, no bonfires, and dire cold outpost g u ard duty, th e locals on m o re than several occasions w ere th e re with b a sk e ts of chicken, coffee, etc. Even invitations to th eir hom es.

CHOICE VOICE There are na longer reasons to hit behind the runners or bunt because a home run can take care of ail the problems. This is not baseball. This is a home run hitting contest.’

Y ong P a rk C o n co rd . 0 .

Iv e been partial to K entucky and T en n e ssee athletic team s for that Very reason ever since. W hatever the in n u e n d o s lo m e they aren't im portant. What is im portant is w h a ts in the h e a rts of it> people. T h a n k s especially to Scottsville. Ky (Had vou m ade it W ildcats' C asey M e d e n d o rp C oldw ater. M ich .

Knick-knacks I will ag ree that the Knicks have lost a step o r two the past couple of years and c a n ’t be put in the sam e b reath as the Bulls or the Magic, but for Shaun Powell to state T S N .

April 29) that the Knicks look "old. shop­ w orn and outdated" as well as lo state “th e Cavaliers should slide past the Knicks in the opening round in four g am es or fewer" is a bit ridiculous.

This is the sam e Knicks team m inus one vastly overrated C h arles Sm ith that was one John Starks m iss away trom w inning The Finals two years ago C om e on TSN. if the regular season w ere a tru e m e a su re of a team , the Rockets wouldn't have won the title last year L T > give the Knicks a M e m ore respect.

T e rry R. W hite L u b b o ck. Tex. s u p e r fc th u b ofthe net

Ttooiranutes...forini ►.lite*Cli aicy Hockey officials m ust be consistent sn calling penalties, in a g am e during the Pens-* C aps series, a Capital sw ings at the puck and Mario Lem ieux is accidentally hit in the face with the stick. Lem ieux is down on the ice. no penalty is called. He gets up with a scratch on his ch eek , and then a four-minute double m inor is called.

In the Leafs-Blues series. C h n s te r Olsson takes an accidental stick to the head the sam e way Lem ieux did. O lsson is down un th e ice. no penalty is called. He g e ts up. bleeding profusely and sk ates to the bench, leaving a trail o f blood. Still n o penalty is called. Why? lf one action is a penalty in one gam e, should not it be one in any o ther g a m e ' .Apparently the ru les of the gam e ch an g e w hen it involves su p e rs ta rs lf the integrity of the g am e is to be m aintained, then ev e ry o n e m ust be treated as pquals.

L a n c e Pviko rn S to rrs. C onn. u c o n n i'm . u co n n . ed u

What a sales pitch Iv e got to get this off my chest. Since the first day of s p n n g training, all Iv e heard is that th e O rioles are a lock in the .AL. East.

Not! .As they've shown, without good pitching (see Red Sox) they Ii bv lucky to get the wild card this year J S a n to r o I Javtona B e a c h , r ia 9 s tr a n g e Ao9'<i.Qol com

Behavioral dysfunction In G am e 5 of th e Penguin'' playoff s - n r ' with the Capitals. Penguins fans at Civie .Arena pelted Capitals coach Jim rv h o e n ic ld with cans, bottles and even a souvenir puck that barelv m issed his head. Fans were reacting to an arg u m e n t betw een the Capitals and P enguins' b e n c h e s that had go tten ra th e r heated. SchoentVki w as asked to leave the ice tor his safety i-ast fall, i w as shock ed w hen New York Giants fans gleefully th rew snow balls and

Voices: Is there a correlation between (he lack iii good behavior by athletes and fa n s > packed ice at the C h arg ers' bench, injuring trainer Sid Brooks. Not even a w arning that this cond uct m ight cost th e G iants penalty yardage stopped this b arrag e I re m e m b e r an era w hen fans and the athlete^ ihev c h e e r had class In the IHNS. we had Joe M ontana. Julius E rving and Wayne Gretzky. In the 199<>s we have Dennis Rodman. Michael lr vin and even Magic Jo h n so n push ing referees. A thletes have a responsibility to act rn a m an n er that d o e s not prom ote the type of cowardly incidents we have seen in Pittsburgh and New York. I say to fans and athletes show- so m e class.

S c o tt E llin w o o d B e th e sd a . M d. c o m e t 19 5 t i a o i co m

Geniuses at wort?

In “Florida g e ts defensive lo forget Fiesta" T S N . April 30). M ike Blanchi writes that steve s p u rrie r has built his offensive "genius" designation largely on his u n m a t c h e d ability to cre a te m ism atch es W hen is the m edia going to quit perpetrating the myth that it is m ore com plicated and sophisticated to pass the football. Tom O sb o rn e is a m aster at creatin g m ism atch es and setting up big plays M ism atch es can be created w hen passing and ru n n in g the ball f would like to read one artic Ie by a national sp o rts w riter that gives Dr Tom ( K b o rn e the credit he d e s e rv e s Ja m es M A n dersen P en a n g . M a la y s ia •

Upon further review...

■ .Anthony Ct Mime*, p r e v i o u s c o n sid ered one of the lop J m u n sig n ed junior college point g u ard s, will play at Hliiioi>(. hicago G nom es' first n am e wa" incorrect in th e April 2VI issue

Got a comment?

T h e N-T ir n M . NT W" w o u ld h n r Ut h e a r fr o m you Write Voice o f the Pan. 1 2 / 2 A h n d b e r g h B lvd..

Si Ij/uis. Mo 62132. fax your message to us at 314-993-7723. or send us electronic m ail a t tin m ail (laol. com Be s u n to include \our nam e and a f*t with *your rattail I lit Sp* N e w " r r s m ’is the right to edit letters in t brevity a n d content

IO ‘ COVERSMY

t r a i l s r ! w atch too

The Sporting News

MARIO AND MICHAEL,

much 'n*, the picture lube in my mind keeps showing the batling-glove commercial. I f s Cal and Barry, taking their practice swings in the cage, back and forth.

T m an .All-Star." B a r ry says. "I’m an IU A E8RW 3ESC SC All-Star." Cal says. "I’m an MAT." § St B a r r e• sacs. " I ’m an MAT." Cal sacs.

"I * • wear Franklin batting gloves." B a rry says. “I wear Franklin batting gloves."

Cal sacs.

“Yeah, but I wear an earring."

B a r n• - savs. .And Cal do esn ’t have a • rejoinder.

Onlv• latelv.

• when I •go to mv • mind’s videotape, the badinage is between Michael and Mario, who are the h on orees in this particular awards show. I keep seeing them in a RipkenB on ds repartee, taking their practice slap and jump shots, back and forth. !

"I’m an .All-Star." Michael would saw * " I ’m an .All-Star." Mario would say.

"I’m an MAP." Michael would say.

"I’m an MAP." Mario would say.

“I cam e back from a year in oblivion— well, minor league baseball, anyway— lo lead my league in scoring this season." Michael would saw “I ca m e back from a year in oblivion— Hodgkin's disease and a B y M ichae back so bad it made me scre a m in the night— to lead my league in scoring It shouldn’t su rp rise anyone with a sp orts this season." Mario would say. pulse and a cable-equipped rem ote that “Yeah. but I wear an earring."

U -m ieux and Jord an are Tm S h o rtin g News’ I Michael would say and Mario wouldn't p layers o f the year in the N H I and NBA. have a rejoinder. In the SportsC entcr T h eir p eers very sensibly voted for them in of my mind, hockey players don't lan d slid es lf their p eers som ehow had been dotty enou gh to stu ff the ballot box with wear earrings, even in com m ercials. vote" for som ebodv else, we d have lied about Michael Jordan does. Mario it and given the aw ards to M ich ael and ^Milieux doesn't. And that, in the end.

M ario, anyway, and Im not kidding T h eir is one of the few circu m sta n c e s that I9 9 > 9 ti seaso n s w ere that good. separates the two best athletes We know their c a re e rs have been m irrors a cro ss parallel u n iv erses for m ore than IO currently playing our late 20th years. T h ey w ere m aestros from the mom ent Century winter g am es. .Along, of

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course, with the su rfaces on which they play— Jordan on the hardwood of the NBA. I-emieux on the frozen waler of the NHL.

they b eca m e m ajor leagu e p ro fessio n als in JAM. when on O cto b er 11 le m ie u x scored a goal on h is first shot of his first shift in his first g am e for the Penguins. Fifteen days lat­ er. Jo rd a n d ebuted with lh points for the

the g re a te st offensive player in h o ck ey ; Jo r ­ dan. by then, was the g reatest player, period. in bask etball history.

Jo rd an announced h is d ep artu re from the g a m e in early O c to b e r 1993. saying som e­ thing about burnout and a d esire to spend m ore rime with his family. M ore likely, his r e tirem en t was provoked by fallout from his fa­ th e r’s m urd er and bad p ress about his g am ­ bling associations.

"I had so m e th in g s to so rt ou t." Jo rd an says now.

M ich ael know s M ario from the su m m er­ tim e charity golf circuit. Lem ieux phoned J o r ­ dan before he announced his return to h o ck ­ ey 0 last sum m er.

"M ario had an illn ess.’ Jord an says. “So we cam e b ack in th e sam e way. and in different ways. But I’m very happy with the way h e ’s bounced b ack ."

L em ieu x ’s h ealth forced h is leave of ab­ s e n c e in A ugust 1994. but h is b ack and ca n ce r forced him into a de facto retirem ent (be played only 2 2 g am es) during th e sam e ’93-94 season that Jord an also m issed . Now. they a re linked again across the boundaries of th e ir sp o rts by th e m ost splendid co m e ­ b a ck s im agin able. T h e y both ca m e back physically stro n g er and b e tte r than ev er— or at least as good, w hich is b etter than ev ery ­ body e l s e s best.

nd so it w-as tim e last m onth to tran­ scrib e my m ind’s personal Lem ieux-Jordan highlight tape into the w ritten word. I se t out over a w eek in late .April to s e e them play live. I caught Jo rd an in C h icago and Landover. Md. In betw een. Pittsburgh was a natural layover.

I found a rela x e d , so c ia b le Jo rd an wrap­ ping up the B ulls’ 72-win season, the best reg ­ l n i s l e y 1 ular se a so n th e N BA h as know n. I found a g u ard ed , im p en etrab le L em ieu x laboring 1 B ulls in h is first gam e. Lem ieux went on to S throu gh a difficult first-round playoff se rie s against the Capitals. sco re IOO points as a rookie; Jord an averaged One d ifferen ce betw een the two alm ost im­ 28.2 points per gam e in his first pro season. m ediately b e c a m e apparent. Jo rd a n , at this D uring those early seaso n s, they w ere te r­ stag e in h is career, is at ea se with his role as rific individual talents w hose e m in en ce suf­ an NBA am bassador. That was m issin g dur­ fered only in that it took them both the sam e ing the y ears b efore he left. L em ieux. never long seven y ea rs to b eat th e rap that they an e x tro v e rt anyway, d oesn 't eag erly em ­ cou ld n’t m ake their team m ates good enough b race that responsibility to the N H L w here to win a cham pionship. T h en . they both won the m arketing-of stars is only lip-service. f o r -the first tim e in ‘91. Jo rd an lead ing the Lem ieu x a g re e s with Jo rd a n that he B ulls to the S B A cham pionship over the Lak­ m issed the gam e. T h a t was a big part of it." e rs while Lem ieux look the P enguins lo the Stanley Cup title over the N orth Stars. he says. “I realized that last year in the play­ T h ey won for the second tim e in *92. That o ffs when I was w atching from the o w n e rs year, th eir ch am p io n sh ip s cam e two w eek s box. how m uch I m issed being out th ere. But apart in old C h icago Stadium . T h e P enguins I didn’t want to co m e back u n less I could do finished o ff a sw eep of th e B lack h aw k s on all the things I used to y ju n e I; the B u lls closed out the T rail B lazers ’’W in n in g the sco rin g title was satisfying in six g a m e s Ju n e 14. Lem ieux. by then, was personally, but I cam e b ack to win an oth er

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cole STORY • 11

May 13,1996

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P s a ile i unfvBrsas: After taking a sabbaticai to sort things out. there was no stopping Michael.

Mario missed more than a season because of Hodgkin's disease but quickly regained his super status. cham pionship in R ttsburgh.No one e i ^ seem s to notice, but Lemieux says he doesn't feel as quick. He tires more easily than he should, even if medical tests show nothing alarming. And as if h is h e a lth c o n c e rn s w e re n ’t e n o u g h , h is wife Nathalie, gave birth to son Austin Nicholas in late M arch, three m onths prem a­ turely. after she had two m onths of bed rest and hos­ pitalization. So where Jordan.

33. talks freely of another two or three years with the Bulls (h ell play as long as Phil Jackson coaches, he says), g Lemieux. who will be 31 in October, hints that his play­ ing days may not extend be­ yond this S t^ e > ' Cup ru n .'

T h a t d i f f e r e n c e as i de , though, it also becam e im­ mediately apparent that these two paragons are linked by more than the tangibles of tim­ ing. statistics, comebacks, championships and awards. Jordan and Lemieux, the bottom line says, simply may be the two most competitive

athletes today, a shared trail that does as much as anything to answer the hardest ques­ tion I can think to ask about them: How do they dc what the>- do?

That they are competitive extrem ists, how­ ever. is no great revelation. This com m on ground was evident even from my vantage point on the couch in front of the television.

But the point was driven hom e on my April odyssey by Jordan's outrage over a foul call

by Hue Hollins as the clock expired against Indiana on the next-to-last day of the season. a call thai cost Chicago a m eaningless game. .And b>‘ Lemieux's suddenly heav>- checking in the last couple of m inutes of the second pe­ riod of Game 2 against the Caps, w hen he added a physical presence lo his finesse— a physical presence that a week later cost him a gam e m isconduct early in Game -Is fourovertim e marathon.

’n Eddie Johnston’s office in Pittsburgh’s Civic .Arena, after a Saturda>- practice drat was long on work (the Penguins were .down 2-0 in the Caps series) and short on Lemieux (he skipped the ice time lo rest). I pose that hardest of questions. How do<^

12 • COVER STORY HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING TRIPLEHEADER

Lemieux do what he does?

“He is a very strong-willed guy." Johnston says. “T he things b e s been through— the chem otherapy and a1) that other stuff, and then this year with the baby. I don't think any­ body knew exactly what was going on with him for a month and a half when his wife had to stay in bed. I knew, because I was privy to it He was going to the hospital all the time. After practice, after gam es, he was going to the hos­ pital I don’t know w here he gets the strength, but he was able to play through stuff like th a t He doesn’t have any panic level. He never pan­ ics. I've never seen it. anyway, and Ive seen him in a lot of situations. It just fBes by him.

“On the ice. when you’re that good of a play­ e r and you see the ice the way he sees the ice ... I mean, he sees things you’d swear to God h e ’s got eyes in the back of his head. H ell m ake a play and you ll say. ‘Jeez!’ At the b e ­ ginning. you say. ‘Well, he got luck)’.’ But when he does it every time you see him. you know its m ore than luck."

His first game after Austin’s birth, after the ordeal of Nathalie’s pregnancy. Lemieux col­ lected five goals and two assists against the Blues. Which is m ore than appropriate, of course. Gretzky and Lemieux, together again.

Wily not have a m onster game? And it could have been even more monstrous. Lemieux hit a couple of posts and missed several other op­ portunities against S t Louis that n ig h t It easi­ ly could have been a seven or eight-goal night But the Blues game. Johnston tells me, isn’t his favorite 1996 Mario Lemieux highlight His favorite is the goal Lemieux scored in late Feb­ ruary in Vancouver from behind his back and betw een his legs past the C anucks’ Kirk McLean and into the top co rn er of the n e t That one got at least as much air time over the next week or so as the batting-giove com m er­ cial did. (I know that. because I watch too much TV.) The puck drops behind him; he gets his stick back there; at top speed, he slaps it through his legs from 15 feet out into the top corner. Sounds like one of Jordan’s horse shots in the ham burger com mercials: Off the freeway, through the window, off the score­ board. nothin' but n e t Olaf Kolzig. who logged the lio n s share of the goaltending duties for the Capi­ tals in their series loss to Pittsburgh, has a word for what Lemieux does with a puck. It’s the “hi-diddly-do." which, according to ‘Olie the Goalie.’ is a feint that fakes two defensemen at once. Kolzig says nobody else in the league, including Gretzky, can do the “hi-diddly-do."

"Y" ordan can do it with a basketJ ball. One of the enduring im) | ages of Jordan's career is his hang time on a baseline drive A w h i l e a series of defenders leave their feet and flail away at the spot from w here they think the shot is coming. It’s M ichael’s version of the “hi-diddly-do." Nothin' but net.

That may not be the enduring im­ age from his 1995-96 season, in which Jordan adapted his game to his age.

But i t s one of the ways h e ll be re­ membered. a long with his championship-trophy kiss in ’91 and the dis­ tinctive Jordan backpedal, elbows swinging, after a 3-poim basker W hen he returned to the gam e in March ‘95. Jordan came back with a baseball players body, and it showed.

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FROM MADISON SQUARE GARDEN! FRIDAY, MAY IO 9PM ET 6PM PT I "lh

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Diamond vision: Jordcr. s shortlived ,

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The Sporting News

Return game: Lemieux built his bodyJim the rigors o f a full season bach The Penguins hoped to get 50 games out o f him; they got 70.

In spring 1995, he wasn’t the old M ichael Jor­ dan on the c o u rt He was good— he's always good—but he wasn’t always Jordanesque. He could score 55 points one night against the Knicks. then shoot S-for-19 a few nights later against the 7hers. It bothered him.

“Last year, som e of the criticism did get to me." he says in Landover. “But I wouldn’t give in and succum b to th a t I always tried to find a reason why I could see the hole. but I couldn’t get to i t I just rationalized things very simply, once last season was over. Physically. I wasn’t prepared to play."

U ke Lemieux. Jordan spent last sum m er building his body for the rigors of a full season.

The Penguins, who hoped to have Lemieux for SO games, got 70 from him. For the first time in his career. Lemieux cam e to camp in shape.

The Bulls started Jordan in all 82 regular-season gam es. M ore than in the p a s t Jordan is playing a strong post-up game now with a dead­ ly turnaround jum p s h o t though flashes of his inconceivable creativity with the ball are still there when they’re needed.

In Landover on the last dav of the NBA season. I sit next to Jeff Bzdelik. an assistant coach with the Heat who is there to scout the Bulls for their first-round playoff series. In the third quarter, on consecutive plays. Jordan has

14 • COVER STORY

The Sporting News

the ball on the break with one player to beat In both cases, he simply pulls up short, eight feet from the basket, rather than drive for the dunk. The defender, scil] moving, has nothing to defend. Jordan scores twice, and Bzdelik says, “He’s just playing with th e m '' I want to know where Jordan's game is at 33, compared to where it was at 23. Bzdelik thinks it over, then gives me the politic an* swer you might expect from a young assistant working for Pat Riley and w’ary of making waves in advance of a playoff matchup.

“Some of the younger stars in the league may be able to match his quickness and ath­ leticism now," he says. “But no one can match his intelligence or his desire to win."

When Magic, Larry and Michael all left the game a few years ago. the NBA cranked up its considerable hype machine (the league had a lot of hype help from the shoe compa­ nies. too) to fill the superstar void— ShaquiDe O’Neal. Grant Hill. Larry Johnson. Penny Hardaway and a few other younger stars who probably do have Michael’s quickness and athleticism. Without giving it much thought back then. I bought into the void being filled.

It wasn’t until Michael cam e back so strong this season that V realized how far those younger players still have to go. Quickness and athleticism as Bzdelik carefully suggests. are only part of the process.

Did hockey miss Lemieux as much? I think probably not, mostly because Gretzky and Messier continued to play while Lemieux was gone and partly because the N H L like the NBA. is producing some extraordinary talent in Erie Lindros, Peter Forsberg, Paul Kariya and Jarqmir J agr. Lemieux’s teammate.

Comeback kings: With Jordan making magic on the hardwood and Lemieux gliding and delighting on ice. all is right in the highlight world. But underneath the glitz and 10-second bites may be the most competitive athletes today, a trait that ultimately explains their success and stunning returns.

n a crowded USAir .Vena locker room in Landover at the conclusion of Win 72 last month. I listen to Jordan reflect on his de­ parture and subsequent return to’ the co u rt In this particular game, he has played only the first and third quarters— the game meant as little to the Bulls as the Indiana game had a day earlier— but he still scores 26 points in 24 minutes.

“I had got so bogged down in the way my life had become." Jordan says. “I was enjoy­ ing myself, but I forgot about a lot of the sim­ ple things— about the game and about how much it can make you feel better as a person.

I think sometimes you don’t realize these sit­ uations until you’re aw*ay from the game, so it’s good that I can recognize that now and still have an opportunity to go out and play the game I truly’ love.

“I know I need the game, but I needed the break. too. I needed to break away. I needed the baseball experience to teach me some of these lessons, lf I’d have stayed in basketball for that year and a half. I would never have known. I think it was good for me to get away."

Three davs earlier, in another locker room

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in a n o t h e r a ir lin e 's a r e n a . C h i c a g o ’s U n ite d C e n te r . J o r d a n p o k e s a little fun at h im s e lf, at h is b a se b a ll. In a n s w e r to a q u e s tio n ab o u t the b a llh a n d lin g s k ills of h i s 7-2 t e a m m a t e L u c

Longley. who had dribbled the length of the c o u r t a g a in s t th e P i s t o n s th a t n ig h t, o n ly to h a v e th e ball sw atte d aw av a s h e d ro v e to th e •

b a s k e t . J o r d a n s a y s . “L u c p lay in g point g u a rd is lik e m e t r y in g to hit a c u r v e b a il."

M ic h a e l k n o w s w h e r e h e b e l o n g s now. and it isn t fa c in g th e h o o k in a b a t t e r 's b o x .

T h a n k fu lly , w e h a v e t h e m b o t h b a c k . We sh o u ld a p p r e c ia te it T h e h ig h lig h t r e e l won't ru n fo r e v e r

♦

M ich a el Knisley is a se n io r w riter fo r T n t S h w r ist;

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COVER STORY-IE

May 13.1996

Coach of the Year

SCOTTY BOWMAN Detroit Red Wings Scotty Bowman has always believed that defense wins in the NHL But when you take over a high-profile run-and-gun team such as the Red Wings, it can be a tough sell to persuade the players to give up their scoring bonuses for the good of the team.

The lockout last season enabled Bowman to persuade his players to stress defense first After all. no one was going to get 50 goals-or IOOpoints. He sold them on the left­ wing lock defense, and the players were re­ warded with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

Entering this season. Bowman made it per­ fectly clear to his players in training camp that no one would be falling off the band-

Rookie of the Year

ERIC DAZE Chicago Blackhawks The last winger to come up through the Blackhawks organization and make a big impact wasn’t Bobby Hull. even though it might seem that way. The last really good rookie winger for the Blackhawks was Steve Larmer. That said, there are signs that Eric Daze could be just as good for just as long as Larmer was.

Of late, left wingers in Chicago were lucky to net IO or 15 goals. But Daze is different He possesses the un­ usual combination of size (6-4. 212 pounds), strength, speed and a huge reach. It’s pretty clear the 30 goals and 23 assists he had in 1995-96— the 30 goals a rookie high this season—is just the beginning of a big career.

Daze. 20. fits the definition of a latebloomer to a T. He was a fourth-round draft choice in 1993 after getting only 19 goals in 68 games for Beauport of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. But he had the size and strength that every NHL teams looks for.

Daze went from gawky’ youngster to prime prospect the next season when he scored 59 g o d s in 66 games for Beauport and added eight goals in seven games to help the Canadian team win the World junior Hockey Tournament. The performance earned him a promo­ tion to the Blackhawks late in the 1994-95 season.

It w-as obvious from first glance that Daze was going to be a big pan of the Blackhawks’ future. He scored his first NHL goal in his second game and then went on to play in ail 16 playoff games. That gave Chicago fans a glimpse of what they were going to see this season.

And what a season it would be for Daze, who became the first Blackhawk to be named TSN Rookie of the Year since Larmer in ‘82-83. In this voting this year, the Senators' Daniel Alfredsson placed second, and the Panthers' Ed Jovanovski finished third.

Sometimes you can’t put your finger on just how far a player might advance. But with Daze, it’s easy. One reason we know there is such a great upside for him is that 28 of his 30 goals were scored at even strength.

Rookies don’t always get a chance to play on the pow­ er play, but its plain to see it won’t be long before Daze is a regular contributor on Chicago's power play as well.

Executive of the Year

BRYAN MURRAY Florida Panthers

W hat to do? Your team h a s fin ish ed one point out of th e playoffs in each of its first two seaso n s. O ptim ism reig n s b e c a u se expansion te a m s a re n ’t su p p o sed to b e ch allen g in g for playoff b e rth s.

Y et P an th ers general m anager B ryan M ur­ ray decided w holesale changes w ere necessary.

T h e re w ere plenty of critics w hen M urray fired coach R oger N eilson. T h e re w ere even m o re skeptics w hen h e nam ed longtim e friend D oug M acLean th e new coach. But. as usual.

M urray had good re a so n s for each move.

Even though th e P an th ers w ere com petitive in th e ir first tw o se a so n s . M u rray could see N eilson was d ep en d in g m o re on the v eteran s and less on th e y o u n g sters th e team had draft­ ed so high. And for any expansion team . th e re c o m e s a tim e w hen it m ust put th e em p h asis on youth in o rd e r to take a q u an tu m leap to c o n te n d e r status. T h a t's exactly w hat th e P an­ th e rs did with M acLean behind th e ben ch .

T h e team w as in first place in th e Atlantic Division for m ost of the seaso n , finished with its first w inning re c o rd 141-31-10) an d did it w ith m ajor c o n trib u tio n s from rookie defensem an Ed jovanovski and c e n te r Rob Nied e rm a y e r and production from first-year play­

Capsules o f the a w a rd winners were written by T S S A ssociate E ditor L arry Wigge.

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e rs R o b ert Svehla. R adek D vorak and R hen W arrener. In th e end. the P a n th e rs w ound up with th e second-best re c o rd in NHL h isto ry for a th ird -y ear team , finishing behind th e 4817-15 m ark of the 1981-82 E dm onton O ilers.

M u rray . 53. is not a n ew c o m er to T S N ’s aw ards. He w*as selected C oach of th e Year in 1983-84 with th e C apitals and w as ru n n e r-u p in th e E xecutive of the Year balloting several tim e s w hen he w as th e g e n e ra l m anaged of th e W ings. In th is y e a r's voting. P an th er^ p resid en t Bill T o rrey finished seco n d and the P en g u in s' C raig P atrick finished third 9

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wagon and reverting back to the old me-first days of firewagon hockey in Detroit That the Red W ings broke the Canadi­ ans’ record of 60 victories in the 1976-77 season with 62 and had the best defensive mark in the league is testimony to the job Bowman did. It also com es as no surprise that among the six Stanley Cup winners Bowman has coached, one of them also happened lo be that very same 76-77 Mon­ treal team. Bowman. 62. has been the com­ mon thread to a lot of the NHL’s greatest teams.

Bowman previously was honored as TSN’s Executive of the Year when he was general manager/coach in Buffalo In 197980. However, even though he has coached six Stanley Cup championship teams and has more career victories (the 62 this sea­ son give him 975). he is being honored by his peers as TSN’s Coach of the Year for the first time. The Panthers' Doug MacLean and the Lightning’s Terry Crisp finished tied for second. ♦

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Executives vote for Executive of the Year, and coaches vote for Cooch of the Year.

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The Sporting News

How an underachieving, unhealthy Ranger has found hope and happiness deep in his heart in Texas B v D ave C a l d w ell uan G onzalez still b ite s hts cuti­ cles. still listens to '60s salsa. He still favors talking Cowboys. M a vs and politics (not n ec essarily in that o rd e r). But know this, too: Juan Gonzalez still has "G O S Z O " w ritten on his sh o w e r slippers and penned onto th e w aistband of his underw ear. u t ail th e things that are apparent about Juan Gonzalez, i t s th e n ick nam e that se e m s an ill fit on his 6-foot-3 fram e that c a rrie s IS to 18 fewer p o u n d s than it did last season.

Just as Arlington has reinvented itself from s u b u rb a n flyover b etw een Dallas and Fort W orth to seventh-largest city in Texas. G on­ zalez h a s reinvented himself. He will tell you h e is happier, healthier, re e n e rg iz e d , m o re patient. His friends say they never have seen him m o re at peace.

He is playing a n e w position for th e R an g ers, right field, and his c o a c h e s and te a m m a te s say h e is playing it well (which wasn't always, th e case in G onzalez's ten u re in left) He will this m on th b e c o m e a father for th e sec o n d tim e He s p e a k s b e tte r E n g ­ lish. and. 3s a re su lt, is m o re willing to talk about him self .And w hen h e d oes, he talks, indeed, like a new man '''flus vear is the year

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JASEBALL • 19

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Juan Gonzalez win tell you that he look; a! life in a different way. today because he has shared a glimpse of death. j

hit 37 home- r u n s las* season. Gonzalez had two lengthy stays on th e disabled list ami played in pain from the day he irlt a twinge in his lower back April lh after batting prac lice before a spring training gam e As the season wore on. things grew bad that outfield coach Ed Napoleon wouldn't hit balls to Gonzalez out of lear that he would stretch out an d do s o m e th in g to bi> balk* back T e a m m a te and friend B an Rodriguez says Gonzalez, who can be painfully shy ai times, grew even m o re re s e rv e d oui of frus­ tration. ( )ates was able to play him in ieft tie id univ five times, and when (kites talks of Goozaiez's '95 season, it isn't difficult to read b e­ tween the lines that hts altitude -u ttere d along with his back and neck " T h e re are none of us who like to go to work when weY*no{ feeling well."

9

uan Gonzalez will tell you that h e l o o k s at life in a different way today because he has s h are d a glim pse of death D u r­ ing a trip last N o v e m b e r to his native i u e r to Rico, h e spent several days with a g ro u p of priests on a retreat in the middle of th e island, Included was a m eeting with a young man who was HIV-positive. The m a n s nam e e s ­ ca pes Gonzalez on this day. but h e says he c a m e away from the m e e tin g feeling "touched": "When you have everything in liftlike me. you n eed s o m e th in g stron g inside your heart. Like God. I t s e v e ry th ing I t ' s the Tile man In the m i n o r His life in turmoil. Gonzalez says a trip home to Puerto Rico in the offseason real thing." changed him. ‘I think I have found peace o f m ind.' he said upon his return.

Upon Gonzalez's r e tu r n to Dallas th re e w eeks later. Luis Mayoral, the team 's Latin ... T h e last two years. I had a lot of injuries, a h a n d y in th o se 100-degree days in July and .American liaison and a longtime friend, n o ­ lot of personal problems. T h is year. I have a August. ticed s o m e th in g different about G o n z a le z '' b etter attitude. I am physically and mentally In one of their first tests of the young sea­ m am bo, his rhythm. working hard every day. This is die real thing son. the Rangers split two g a m e s against the "I think." Gonzalez told Mayoral. "I b a w for me."

Mariners last week. But there are many m ore I found peace of mind." g am es to be played, and division leads and re­ T h is less than a year rem oved from seeing " ju a n h a s a lot of p ride— a lot of pride." solve can wither quickly in the biast-furnace his personal life tu rn e d upside down and Mayoral says. “Being young got hun into a lot davs of a I exas sum m er. spread out for public viewing and a 1995 sea­ of c irc u m s ta n c e s — love, ro m ance. But Juan Gonzalez, however, savs he will not be son in which he ra n g up M ark McGwire-like is the type of guy w ho is willing to learn from worn down by anything. He has co m e too far num bers: a h o m e ru n every IO at-bats and 54 his mistakes." to be detoured again. "In this game, you have m issed game> out of 144 b e c a u se of in ju rie s Gonzalez did not u n d e r g o s u rg e r y for his positive g a m e s, and you h av e negative m ost notable a h e r n ia te d disk in his lower back problems, but he was told to stren g th en g a m e s . You have bad g a m e s , and you have back and a b o n e sp u r in his u pper neck. his back thro ug h therapy. He spent the win­ good g am es." says Gonzalez, who went 3-forBut he says the turb ulen ce is gone. T h e r e ter working on h i ' stom ach m uscles and his 8 with no RBIs in the M a n n e r s series "You is nothing g o n zo about him. His life is in p e r ­ hips— as well as his back. His weight fell just got to k eep y our head up." fect order. from 235 to about 220 He worked out with a T h a t hasn't always been ease. medicine ball. He watched tapes of himself in Gonzalez t u r n e d 26 in O c t o b e r but al­ action. He read bo o k s and listened to ca'* re ad y h a s b e e n m arrie d t h r e e times and is pril and May are m o n th s when talk settes about baseball. e x p e c t e d to wed P u e r t o Rican m e r e n g u e "W hen you have negative experiences." h e of rejuvenation and new-found re­ star Olga T a n o n . who is p r e g n a n t with his says, “you can have positive e x p e r i e n c e s , solve bloom s like spring's bluebon­ s e c o n d child, a girl. His b r o t h e r died of a too " n ets that carpet the roadsides along d r u g o v erd o se in .April 1994. His third m a r ­ T h e n Gonzalez sent his te a m m a te s and 1-30 n e a r th e Ballpark in .Arlington. Yet a to P u e rto Rican volleyball star Elaine riage. m onth into this season, it appears this is. t r u ­ Lopez, dissolved that y e a r soon afte r they O ates a s tro n g — and som e say most su rp ris­ w e r e sec retly m a r n e d . (So i n c e n s e d was ly. a different Juan Gonzalez and a different in g— m e s s a g e by re p o rtin g early lo spring Lopez's family that s o m e of h e r relatives R angers team. training. The impact carries over today "He's T h e offense is as form idable as ever, and s o u g h t him o u t in K an sa s City d u n n g a co n c en tra tin g on doing his job." Rodriguez R angers' trip two y ea rs ago. Gonzalez, som e says. "H e's doing the little things. H e's using general m a n a g e r D oug Melvin and m a n a g e r say. h ad to sleep in the visitors' c l u b h o u s e J o h n n y O ate s have pieced t o g e t h e r a solid the whole field. Juan is healthy." to avoid a confrontation.) d e f e n s e , two w o r d s rarely it e v e r u s e d in Since o p en in g day. Gonzalez, appearing P e rh a p s as a result. Gonzalez, expected to m o re lithe and flexible, has co m e early to the co n ju nction w h e n talking a b ou t this team . b e c o m e baseball’s next su p e rs ta r after backpark and stayed late lo work on his fielding Since a fran chise-record 7*0 start, th e pitch­ to-back 40-homer sea so n s in 1992 and *93. be­ and hitting. He h a s d o n e e v e ry th in g the ing h a s b e e n s e rv ic e a b le , t h o u g h th e ro ta ­ c a m e a m u ch less productive player. coach h a s a sk e d him to do— and has smiled tion h a s s h o w n aru inability to g o past the .After he signed a seven-year. S45.45 million th ro u g h it all.

■ sixth inning, th u s forcing Melvin an d O ate s contract, his battin g av erag e d ro p p e d from Says Rangers hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. to c o n s id e r a 12-man staff. T h a t would s h o r t .310 in 1993 to .275 in 1994. .And th o u g h he I who m anag ed Gonzalez at Sarasota in 1986. th e b e n c h o n e b a c k u p w h o c o uld c o m e in

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why he feels good about h n w i t . he don* a little bn ex tra And I think he x Lapp** web ills outside life Thai m ak es it easier to v oc:e to the park da\ in and day o u i " He aixo is playing a new position, w h a h factors m t" ‘.his mind g am e. as well I late* h a s Gonzalez playing right field, winch > smaller and therefore closer to the xlan/K at the Ballpark in Arlington That. Gates wi l l give Gonzalez a chance it, bond a nit th.* lans.'iiiuch as. say. Gary M atthews did a c u hs tans at Wrigley Bield a de c a d e ag., Gonzalez has taken lr. the p o s i t i o n e u r i j i i siasjicaiK. not to m en tio n nearly d aw ie s 'K ( l a t e ' says Gonzalez always has been ••titIm xia<ttc. but o t h e r s su gg est that Gonzalez s e e m ' Jo be m o re incused on baseball than he ev er has been Moreover. Gonzalez say s he is having tun He ha< loved playing baseball ins whole hie be says. but so m etim e s the injuries and hype m ad e the g a m e s e e m like a c h o r e Through his setbacks and from the setback o! o n e liarticular P u e rto Rican le s s fortunate. Gonzalez now kn ow s what a cho re really is.

As h e d r e s s e s tor a n o t h e r g a m e at the Ballpark in .Arlington, a reinvented Juan G on ­ zalez reflects T h e r e is no cuticle-biting, no salsa music For the m o m en t, the talk is not of Cowboys or Mavs or politics, but of Juan Gonzalez and the work at hand ‘'T h is is a job. o r like a job." he says. “but it s fun b e ­ c a u s e y o u ’re playing So you sh ou ld have fun " He s o u n d s as if h e really m e a n s it. + f l a i r Caidurll is a sports tenter tor The I Jallas M orning Vies

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(N.L.) Central location gives reeling Reds hope

in th e race with the w orst re c o rd in the leag u e Yet w hen you c o n tin u e to u n ­ d erach iev e. you can't sit back and let n a tu re take its course.

Bow den would love to m ak e the quick fix. He know s he can't take on anv m o re high-priced salaries, but h e 's itchin g to m ak e a trade. H e’s a w h eel­ er-d ealer and would like n o th in g b erter to send sh o ck waves th ro u g h o u t th e le a g u e with a move that s h a k e s up his team . T h e p ro b lem is no o n e s willing to cooperate.

"I’ve never seen a m arketplace so diffi2 cult to m a k e deals." g B ow den says. T h e § pitching s h o rta g e is so ridiculous, th e c h a n c e s of picking up a P ete S c h o u re k bn w aivers o r m a k ­ ing a trad e for pitch­ ing is tough.

Rough and tumble: Like this collision between Eddie Tauberisee a n d the "B esid es, th e re Giants' Rich A u rilia . the R eds'opening month has been one bumpy ride. are a lot of clubs b e­ W eaver deal. A lot of th at's le a rn e d . M avbe lieving they can win. Iv e never seen so m uch III learn how to argue. parity. You don't see clubs rebuilding yet be­ "The o th e r day I went out th e re and said. cause e v e ry b o d y thinks th ee have a chance.

'Dad gum it. we haven't had a b re ak all year.'

No o n e 's willing to m ake a trade to sacrifice and T e r r y Tara said. ‘I'm not h e r e to give you now for th e future. a b r e a k .'"

"I know I have to be patient, but it's still P e rh a p s th e only th in g that h a s kept hard to go th ro u g h . I d o n ’t m ind losing w hen Knight and B ow den's sanity th ro u g h o u t this y our team is that bad. But this team should ord eal is th e Reds resid e in th e N .L Central. be b e tte r than it is. It's h ard to believe. w h ere m ediocrity prex-ails. No one is capable "You hope they co m e out of it. .And w hen of w inning 90 g a m e s in th is dixision. Heck. they do. you just hope it s not too late " SS victories m ight do it In th e m ean tim e, you should g et so m e sleep, big guy.

It s easy to stay patient w hen you can stay 9

Bob NIGHTENGALE

first Jo g am es. W hat h a p p e n s to this guy once they get in a pennant ra c e 5 "Obviously, w e're in a funk right now."

Knight says “But I don't ever ch a n g e a line­ up just to ch an g e. I h ate c h a n g e I'm a con­ stant person. I d o the sam e things e v e ry day.

Cd be easy to sta lk .'

Bowden says K night's job is safe for now. but the tans already are calling for Sparky .Anderson . And g u e ss what? .Anderson h a s told m e n d s th e Reds and D o d g e rs are th e only two team s that would com pel him back into baseball "Obviouslv. the h ea t's on Rav b ec au se we haven'! been winning and o u r history of m an ­ agerial changes." Bowden says. "But I think Ray's d o n e a pretty good job. and th e criti­ cism h a s b e e n unfair It's just that any time w hyou o se have a new m a n a g e r and new- players, th e re 's going to b e an adjustm ent period."

Certainly, i t s not K night's fault that except tor P ele S ch o u re k . th e re st of (he rotation com bined tor one xiciory in April. And now s c h o u re k has a so re elbow.

Knight didn't c a u s e th e rash of injuries that have ied him to u se nine different o u t­ fielders while Reggie S a n d e rs is on th e dis­ abled !i<t tor an o th er m onth with a bad back.

And h e 's not to blam e that Vince C olem an ha> been abysmal.

While the players are haxing difficulty ad­ justing to Knight atter w orking u n d e r Davcy Jo h n so n , and Knight too frequently xviii say w h a t s o n his m ind instead of k ee p in g his to n g u e in c h e ck , h e c o n c e d e s h e 's still g e t­ ting accustom ed to this job. Hey. th e man sui! s learning how- to deal with u m p ires "I really don't know- how to argue." Knight says "I can't bob my head and do th e Earl •

ed< g e n e ra l m a n a g e r Jim B o u d e n was d isco v ered at h o m e th e o th e r m o rn in g with a telephon e to his ear. n e w sp a p e rs sp read in front ol him and th e disheveled look of a m an world was cru m bling aroun d him uh. how a r r you doing these days. Jim bo’y "How am I d o in g 5* Bowden sax’s “I haven I •dept in a w eek I haven't sh aved in th re e d ays I'm struggling. T hat's how I'm doing " Just thought we d ask Bowden, w ho had the finest v ea r of anv general m anager in baseball a year ago. must find a m iraculous way to save the Rt*ds l"hi" is-a team floundering, en te rin g the w eek with th* worst re c o rd in th e National le a g u e , which included it nine-gam e losing streak Hie) Ye been d e c im a te d bx i n j u r e s Rem ed bx iotis\ pitching E m b a rra s s e d bx M arg e v h o t t And m ocked bx m a n a g e r Ra> Knight It's th e first w eek ot Max. and Knight aire ad ) was calling g a m e s “m usl-win situ a ­ tions " He c h a n g ed his lineup Jo tim es in the

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King Kong There max not i v player mon- underrated than f t r a t o m irkier Jeff King w h o fast >v»vk beearn* the third p lay a in major league fusion :o /ut fwso tanners in the same inning lwkx rn iii' career. and m w -red the week batting .295 wrtl* ' oihi hicv 9 h whats and J9 RBL "H e v jundam eniuiix and un-chanicallx th e best piaxer ' v»- ever N v n " I'irate-** ^ n o n s to p J ax Bell six-* "lit

ru n s w ere scored in th e 360 g a m e s played ■ The hom e run count of S j8 tJ.J, p er c a m e l p u ts h itte rs oil a pace lur 5.216 h o m e r u n s in ’9b. T h e record i ' 4.4.V h o m e ru n s in 198" ■ Hie A I I! KA tor April was 5 it>. th e \ L FRA was 4. J o Die record-worsi F R A ' lur a se a so n ar* .» -M in th e

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■ D a n Sheffield. Brady ■ T h e T w ins set th e .AL A nderson and B arry B onds re c o rd for m ost r u n s in the each tied th e m ajor league m on th of April with ITS Of i c o u rse . 94 th o se ru n s w e re sc o re d against the j T ig e rs and Royals T h e I Tw ins scored 81 ru n s in the o th e r 18 gam es. .And this is without Kirby Puckett.

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Around the bases

What a month

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King's crown:

T u n homers in the same inning— tor the second time in his rarer* <nca overdue light on the talented slugger.

OK. so while Felipe Aioli is th e b e st m a n a g e r in th e gam e. Phillies m a n a g e r Jim F reg o si is close behind H o w this team is playing above SOO with th is rotten collection of talent is beyond belief F regosi c e le b ra te d his fifth an n iv e rsa ry as Phillies m a n a g e r th is past week. T hat d o e s n ’t sound like m uch, but he already is

fo u rth in seniority in the N .L b eh in d Tom L aso.da. jim l e y land and Bobby Cox. ... T h e Twains will sta rt col­ lecting insurance once Puck­ ett m iss e s 60 d ay s in a sea­ son and will con tin ue to col­ lect until h e re tu rn s . ... Cal Ripken was seeth in g for be­ ing rem oved for a pinch r u n ­ n e r last w eek in th e eig h th inning against th e Yankees.

It w as th e first tim e during R ipken's stre a k began in 1982 that h e w as rem o v ed from the g a m e with the o u t­ c o m e in doub t, lf nothing else. Orioles m anager Davey J o h n so n h a s m a d e it d e a r w ho is ru n n in g th e show th is season. ... T he Red Sox have (Teated a new m eaning to the phrase. “Five m an ro­ tation." em ploying th eir fifth since opening day 1995. Yet. d e m o te d co a ch Al N ipper will b e back next season, ac­ cord in g to officials in the o r­ ganization. T h o s e sam e s o u rc e s say m a n a g e r Kevin K ennedy will not be back in '97. saying h e sim ply has

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Still the b e st B u t Bonds uvnt$ to finish strong, too. c re a te d too m any e n e m ie s with his m o u th . ... Ju st in c a s e th e r e was anv d o u b ts.

B a rry B o nds re m a in s the g re a te st player in th e g am e He finished .April with l l h o m e rs and a m ajor-league leading 32 RBls. “I'm still ex ­ cited. but i'm an O c to b e r m an." B o nds says, "lf w e're winning, th at's w-hen i’m hap­ py." ... W elcom e back. Rod Carew. ♦ Bob S ig h to n g a Ie corers th e D odgers f o r th e Los A n g e le s T im es.

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BASEBALL•21

May 13,1996

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held a 9-4 lead. But .Arthur Rhodes and the beleaguered ( Inole^ bullpen could not hold on. Rhodes ERA went from 0.60 to I ~2 when he gave up seven runs. The Yankees got even wnh a five-run fifth and won it on Tin<> Mar It was the kind of series easily torunez's three-run homer in the seventh gotten, and rightfully so.

When public address announcer Rex UTien the Yankee^ and (Anoles took Barney informed the crowd that the the field April 30 for the opener of a game had ^et a record at 11 55 p rn . rwo-game set at Camden Yards, no one the sleep-walking crowd of about 27 n*could imagine what was ahead. Instead leased a collective vawn of an early season match between the Nineteen hour- later they came back top two teams in the A .L Hast. they and trudged well past midnight Th** spent 9 hours. SS minutes putting more Yankees' Bernie W illiam s became the heads to bed than N'yQuii. fipit Yankee in 62 years to get six hits in Game I was the longest nintsnning a game. When it all finally, finally ended game in history, a 4 hour. 21 minute af­ in the loth with Martinez hitting a fair that surpassed the record of 4.18— grand slam—only the second time a set by the Dodgers and Giants October slam had been hit in the 15th inning or 2.1962. Game 2 went 15 innings and was later— the fallout was something nght just minutes from being called at the I out of Bill James. a.m. curfew. .Andy Pettitte was the start­ Over two games, there were ing pitcher for the Yankees in Game I ■ 895 pitches. 427 of of them balK P e ttitte , fere! The series was no cake­ and gave up nine runs in one inning. He ■ 12 errors— five by Yankee second walk fo r the pitcher, who got shelled in then got the victory in Game 2 by pitch­ baseman Manano Duncan the first gam e but mopped up the second. ing the final 3 innings of relief.

■ Nine home runs. .And that's justihe C liffs Notes.

■ The Orioles' bullpen gave up I i hits and in earned runs It all began early .April 30. when Orioles catcher Chris Hoiles in 11ri innings; the Yankees gave up no earned runs and just became a father. By the sixth inning, he was the smartest guy 13 hits in 18 innings. in the ballpark. On a frigid night best suited for polar boar^ and .And a whole lot of f o l k s were grateful Thursday w a s an people smart enough to stay home. Hoiles was ejected by plate off day. umpire Terry Craft for arguing balls and strikes.

Some players were quick to blame the umpires' strike zone Both teams were livid about Craft's strike zone. There were for the debacle. Others said it was just lousy pitching But the 13 walks— 7 intentional, tying a record— and 29 for the series. only feasible explanation for what had happened over the pre­ Pettitte entered the game with a 3.09 E R A But after IO of 13 vious 29 hours. 35 minutes was hovering high over the Inner batters reached base and nine scored in 1-plus innings, his Harbor.

ER A ballooned to 5.00.

A big. bright, full yellow moon.

It took 90 minutes to play the first two innings. The Orioles —fla w s Tuttu

Camden Yawns

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NIGHT MOVES

SPARKY’S CORNER team competitive. He When Felipe Abu (I played doesn't do it as a dic­ baseball with him in the Do­ tator. He leads by his minican Republic in 1956; he was 19. and I was 21) was actions. When I visit­ named manager of the Expos. ed him in Cincinnati.

I could tell by the I was managing the Tigers. I players who came told him to go to a mirror and into his office that take a picture. I told him now this man is held in that he was a manager, in five years he would look like me. high esteem. I must Felipe is now in his fifth admit it made m ea little jealous. But I season. But baseball fans 7 don't understand howam so proud of my long-time friend. tremendous a manager he is Alout He has a fan in Sparky J Sparky Anderson and how much he has ac­ is a regular contribu­ I live at IO p. rn E T Thursdays, complished at Montreal. the keyword on A O L The tor to The S p o r t i n g N e w s ort Year after year, the Expos Sporting Sews. Sot yet America Online. For more have lost key players, and he accessible to Macintosh users. has continued lo make the I from Sparky, or to catch him

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THE BOOK ON..,

Is there any organization on this planet with worse luck than the Expos? It had the finest team in baseball two seasons ago and was on the verge of finally getting the city of Montreal excited about the game. So what happens?'

The strike hits, and the World Series is canceled.

This season, the Expos again are playing marvelous baseball.

So what happens? Superb out­ fielder Ronde!! White is lost for two months with a bruised spleen and bruised kidney ahi t an outfield collision. W ill the baseball gods give this fran­ chise a break'

JOEY HAMILTON IMP, Pates In his first start this season. Joey Hamilton had a small problem: His neck was so stitt that when fie pivoted toward the batter while throwing curves and sliders, he could not see Wrigley Field s home plate.

Hamilton adjusted by relying on his changeup and sinking fastball to beat the Cubs. Through Sunday. Hamilton.

25. has continued to amaze He has polished up what already was an advanced game to become one of two 6-game winners..

Hamilton’s success is surpnsing to few scouts or close observers. The Padres' first-round pick (eighth overall) in the '91 draft has always shown a lively fastball and good control.

And in his first two seasons (1994 and '95). his ERA of 3.05 was second only to Atlanta’s Greg Maddux among N.I. starters with a combined 300 innings. But in Hamilton's case, those ingredients didn't translate into victories because of his underachieving teammates. Hamilton, who brought a career 15-15 record into the season, had hurt himself, too. by making errors. “ I don’t see this year as any different. he says. “ It’s nice to win. But 90 percent of the time when I go out there I’m going to keep us in the game Whether we win the game or not. ft’s not all in my control.”

Hamilton still needs to attend to details. When pitching in Atlanta last month, the native Georgian said he allowed himself to be distracted by friends and family and was too excited for his own good. But his fast start is no fluke “He's going to win a lot of games for us." says G M. Kevin Towers.. "He has a chance to win at least 15 games " ♦

— Tom KRASOVIC

— Bob J te r a s A ii

The editors of Field & Stream Magazine join local and 4 u M * p4 « / ' « w

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

field S Stream legends is now airing on The Nashville Network (TNN), every Saturday at 9:30 a.m. EST.

The Sporting News

22 • ILL EAST

ATLANTA BRAVES W-L: 18-13 Place: 2nd Four-man rotation: Bobby Cox remem­ bers when teams regularly used fourman pitching rotations He's about to resurrect the practice Because the team has every Thursday off this month, plus the first Thursday in June.

Cox will drop fifth starter Jason Schmidt from the rotation the next four weeks. "It's not fair 10Jason, but the Jour starters would rather go on three days rest than pitch on the sixth day." Cox says. The plan has the approval of Greg Maddux. Tom (ilavine. John Smoltz and steve Aw ry, who will work with one less day of rest than nor­ mal “I guess this time ol year I'd rather come back early than nave the extra tiff days." (ilavine says... W hile tying the At­ lanta record tor most wins in .April (lo ), the Braves posted a winning record in the owning month tor only the eighth ume since moving to the city in 1966, Not including last year's A l mark, the Braves have had one winning April since I SSS ...

Since being moved from No. S lo No J in the order three weeks agt'. Mark Irm ke has hit in ll’ of In games al a .292 clip “I enjoy iC he says “I don't have any explanabon for (my success). I just try and go out and do my jo b " When Cox made the move. U*mke was hitting .200 Klesko record: Ryan Klesko's 10th homer broke Dale Mur­ phy's Atlanta record of nine home runs in April, accom­ plished in 1979 and I96.V “Beating something that Dale Murphy did. that's something I feel fortunate in doing."

Klesko says . Smoltz was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for the first time in his career. Smoltz ended April with a >1 record and 2.70 ERA and led the league with rd strikeouts The last time a Braves pitcher other than Greg Maddux won the award was in July 1992. when Glavine was honored Since then. Maddux has won 11three times, most recently last Septem ber.... .Atter near­ ly three weeks on the disabled list. Jeff Blauser was acti­ vated and infielder Tony Gra/tanino was returned to Class AAA Richmond — B m . ZACK

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FLORIDA MARLINS W-L: 11-21 Place: 5th Mamm-Strung: A year ago. Chns Ham­ mond was considered one of ti* league's best Lefthanded starters But after open­ ing ih e season lo with a 10.88 ERA. he has been moved to the bullpen.

The clincher was last Saturday's 17-5 loss to the Rockies, in which Ham­ mond retired two barters and allowed seven runs on four hits, including three home runs His problems are more mental than physical “This is the worse I ve ever thrown.*' he says. “ It's early, so III do anything to gel my confidence hack It is embarrassing " In his last three starts. HammondTailed lo make ii past the third inning and had a 39.46 ERA. He realizes he needs to “quit overthrowing and quit worrying about getting guys out." Kurt M iller was called up to replace Hammond in the rotation. Miller. 23. led the Puerto Rican League in ERA most of the winter and was 2-1 with a 2.86 ERA in five starts at Class .AAA Charlotte (International J He was an easy choice over Li van Hernan­ dez. who has struggled much of this season at Charlotte.

The eyes have It: Left fielder Jeff Conine saw two eye spe­ cialists to solve his contact lens problem. He w-as having trou­ ble keeping moisture in his eyes, which forced him to con­ stantly blink. The problem-affected him on defense and at bal— he was in a 3-tor-25 hitting slide. Doctors advised him to change his contact solution and the way he stores his lenses. and an ophthalmologist unclogged an oil duct and blocked a duel that drains tears from his eyes In his games atter seeing the doctors. Conine had lour hits. including two home runs in two days . Outfielder Gary Sheffield tied a nvord with 11 home runs in .April. .After being left in the ondeck circle in the ninth inning of an .April 30 loss to the Phillies. Sheffield opened May with homer No 12 Rehewr Alejandro Pena got a w o o d opinion on his injured ro­ tator ait!', and it appears he will not have lo undergo surgery thai would threaten his career Pena has a small tear and will r*-M lur another five week— Scott T o m

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W-L: 16-15 Place: 1st May Day celebration: After a week oi inactivity because ut an t‘ar infectiun« Ryne Ntndberg ctdebrated the new month with two home Tuns May I Although he had hi< be<( April for |x)wer production with five home runs and I - RBN . Sandberg hit ISS "'Piere are only three things certain in lite death, taxe^ and Ryno hitting under J» k « m April." Mark Grace says sandberg had more homers this season in .v> at-bats than he did in at-bats in I$M . when he retired He is on a pace to nearly match his career high of 4m in Jaime Navarro is trustrated by a tough .A>nl in which he won one game "I leave games winning or tied. and I don’t get the win." he says "What can I say' (ii just keep pitching. I guess Nothing - working for me right now. so I jus: have lo live with it" . Hurd baseman U*o Gome/ was supposed to be a part-time player But with Dave Magadan out. he took over the job and hit J.n s with five homers and lo RBls u; his first nf> al bata Before this season, outfielder lun> Gonzalez was a career Jl> hitter in April He hit .346 the first month, and no one was more <urpns<*d than Gonza­ lez. "I don’t have an answer tor it. hut I know j was pumped up coming into the season." Gonzalez says. "I want to play every day and I don’t want lo platoon, so maybe I was try­ ing to prove something ’’ Sosa's record pace: W ith 4LJ strikeouts in 31 games. Sam­ my Sosa was on a pace lit finish with 2 ’ 19 The Cubs’ record is 143. bv Byron Browne in iHbb The major league record is l.so M.| by the Giants’ Bobby Bonds in ]P7t) ... Jim Bullinger has throe cartxT home runs and two this season Bul he’s a long way from breaking any team records for a pitcher Fergie Jenkins is the career leader with 13 homers. and lh Cubs pitchers have hit ai least four, including Claude Passeau (13). Charlie Root i l l ) and Milt Pappas (4) Jenkins also holds the smgle-season mark with six homers in I “ 71 — BAHRY ROZKH

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W-L: 16-13 Place: 3rd Health comes first: W ilily he admits being away imm the game will hurl. pitching coach Johnny Pedros knows manager Jim Fregosi was right when Fregosi >ent him home April IS be­ cause ot health problems. Pedro, tu. underwent bypass surgery last Ntw vember and complained os fatigue during the reason s first three works A medical examination showed Podre* had an irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure “Jimmy didr. t want me lo die in Iron! ut hun." Podre> say> The club will use Podres in a 'limited role provided he gets healthy “ I think the world of Johnny, but this is more im* ixntant." Fregosi says "Hopelully. next year he can be on hand to work with our pitchers in spring training and do some scouting ".. Class AAA pitching coach Jim Wright replaced Podres Despite throe solid jkTlomiances by pitcher Curt c h illin g on an injury rehabilitation assign­ ment. the team will not rush its former ace oil the disabled list “He >coming along, bul he still rnvds work." G M ir e Thomas says It i*- hoped Schilling will be ready to join the team in time tor a West Coast trip which begins May lh Who swapped J.R .? With Gregg J et fernunavailable at least until June 4. team officials decided to find an experienced hrs! baseman Gene Schall, who was Jeilenes' backup, tailed lo win tilt* job Catcher Benito Nuitiago and stvond baseman Kevin Jordan also were tried before J R. Phillips was ob­ tained From the (hants It is bojx-d Phillips. 3h. can find the stroke which produced M home runs in two Glass AAA sea*>n> He batted I Po in AJ games last year Jon Zuber was returned to Class AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre to make nmm tor Phillips. . Outfielder Jim Eiseom ch announced the formation of the Jim Risenreich Foundation tor Children with TouretteA Syndrome "J don’t want any kid to go through the ridicule and embarrassment I went through." says Kisenreich. who was diagnosed as basing the neuro­ logical disorder when he was J3 — GEORGE A. Kw£ III

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PITTSBURGH PIRATES P tw Barry Bonas­ u s Caroon GJenaBenHJ Rc&by Thompson Mas WSsms

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ST. LOUIS CARDINALS W -l: 14-17 P lace: 4th Jack Murphy su cc ess: It w as onw ard and upw ard for th e team after it • finally had b eaten th e P ad res at ja c k M urphy M adium . T he team had not won in San D iego in 15 g am es, or sin ce July v\ 1992. w hen T om P ag ­ nozzi hit a ninth-inning h o m e r oft Randy M yers for a IAI victory. Pagnozzi drove in one ru n and sco red a n o th e r in a T I win iast Fridav that w as follow ed by a win o v er th e P a d re s th e next n ig h t. B efore those victories, th e team had slogged to six straig h t losses and nine in IO g a m e s .... E ntering the w eek. the C ardinals w ere tied for seco n d in th e league in hom e ru n s allowed with 39 in 31 g am es, with .Andy B enes ll-4) h arin g given up eight of th em B enes had given up 23 ru n s and 32 hits in his last 2 0 " in n in g s over four sta rts . "I'm really irritated the way I've throw n." B en es s a y s "AYhen you have n o thing to show for your first th re e s ta rts you try to win tour or five g a m e s in y o u r next start. It d o esn't w ork that w ay" Red sc a re : Ray U n k fo rd . who h a s eight h o m e rs, is c o n ­ c e rn e d about th e team 's m ediocre sta rt "We've been play­ ing like last y ear's C ardinals o r the last two or th re e years' C ardinals." he says “W e're panicking. .And i ts too early to panic." C ardinals ow n ers Bill De W in Jr. and Fred H ansen p resid en t M ark Lam ping and g en eral m anager Walt jocketty m et with officials in St. P etersb u rg . H a.. Sarasota. Fla., and Jupiter. Fla., as they c o n t i n u a to try to establish w here the club will train after the 1997 season. T he C ardinals have trained in .st. P e te rsb u rg since 194b ... Royce C larion s ta rt­ ed all but th r< r of th e first 31 g a m e s at sh o rtsto p , "lf y o u ’re going lo co m p ete, you've got to have so m e kind of stability up th e m iddle." veteran sh o rts to p Ozzie Smith says. “.And I think Royce h a s given us that kind of consistency* I don't think you could ask for m ore “ Third basem an G ary Gaelti had to rep o rt to the disabled list with a broken KH’ after he d ro p p ed a steel g rate on his toot w hile try in g to unclog a d r a in ai his h o m e —-Rick HUMMEL

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W-L: 15-15 P la c e : 2nd Come again: O rlando M erc ed 's m is­ fo rtu n e is an o th er opportunity for M idre C um m ings M anager Jim Ley• land says h e ll play C u m m in g virtu­ a l every day in right field as M erced sits on the disabled list w ith ? strained right ham string. C um m ings was once die top m inor league prospect but his status has fallen d ra­ matically in the iast year D espite a good spring, h e had vir­ tually no chance to m ake the club. C um m ings would have an even better opportunity to stay if h e could play cen ter field.

T he dissatisfaction with th e M ike H ingery-Jacob Brumfield com bination continues. The organization sent C um m ings to C lass A C algary with th e se instructions from assistant g e n ­ eral m anager P ete Yuckovich: Play hard, play right and play ail the time. Leyland h as a different plan to co v er second basem an C arlos G arcia's absence, also brought on by a right h am strin g injury. H ell use N elson Liriano and John W ehn­ e r at second but h e ll also shift Jeff King there. That Hill give first basem an M ark Johnson som e at-bats against righthand­ ed pitching. T h e team called up first basem an Rich A ude ra th e r than m iddle infielder T omrn- Womack. Leviand w ants a • righ th an d ed bal off th e bench.

D isaster relief: T h e bullpen co n tinues to be a disaster. Re­ lievers allow add-on ru n s that put late-inning co m eb ack s out of reach . B ecause of Dan M iceli's failures. Leyland will re v ert to th e com m ittee approach. “Right now I don't think we have th e dom inating rip e p itch er you can b rin g into the gam e and say t h e r e s a 90 p ercen t chance (of a save).’ g en ­ eral m an ag er Cam Bonifay s a y s .... A ttendance continues to be an issue, even with a m o d est goal o f 1.4 million. T he team sold only 9.812 for its first half-price n ig h t... Leyland has done som e m inor shuffling in his batting order. Jay Bell has m oved to firth and C harlie H ayes has been dropped to seventh. G arcia's injury delays plans to get him established in th e leadoff spot. ... Liriano plans to abandon sw itch-hit­ ting and hit lefthanded exclusively.

— JOH* MEHUD

IP ^

RELIEVER

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The Sporting News

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SAN DIEGO PADRES

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W-L 19-12 Place: 1st Playing with pale: Ken Caminiti s

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SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

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W-L: 14-16 Place: 4th

No future: .After touting J.R. Phillips as its firs! baseman of the future, the club finally gave up by trading him to Philadelphia for either a player to be named later or an undisclosed amount of cash Phillip? became ex­ pendable because of Mark Carreon's emergence at first. Marvin Benard's versatility in the out­ field and Phillips' inability to make contact with regulari­ ty—especially as a pinch hitter. The 26-year old Phillips never fulfilled the potential he displayed at Class AAA Phoenix, where he hit 27 home runs in each of the 1993 <tnd 1994 seasons. Team officials were discouraged that Phillips never showed improvement, striking out 13 limes in 25 at-bats this season, including four strikeouts in five atbats as a pinch hitter. Phillips wasn't surprised by the trade. as Minnesota scouted him thoroughly during spring train­ ing. “Not only is it a change of scenery, but another oppor­ tunity to play." manager Dusty Baker says. The Giants have a June IS deadline to choose from a pool of Philadelphia players or accept cash as compensation for Phillips.

Awesome April: Jack Murphy Stadium, was the perfect site tor Barry Bonds to secure National League player of the month honors for .April Bonds hit two home runs and drove in six runs against the Padres on .April 30 to finish the month with 11 home runs and 32 RBls The home run total tifd a maior It-agin* record for mixt home run*' in April IioruK hi! thrtv bt .nit- run" in a tw,*gamr "enc" to improve hi" can-it statiNtiC" !<•2“ home runs. 4s RHD ami a XC bat­ ting .jvtrag»‘ at ?!>« LJipark Jnci>!i".*"i<n‘ continne" to baltic Bak<: Hu- chil' commit-re 22 error" during a y*-gam< "[retch that included m.\ t-rr««r.V"" game" Man­ agement’" optimistic lonvaM tor mane" continue" to back:lrt (he club announced that Kir: Mauwanng will tx- out i>•- duet wrt-k" with a broken ielt hand Now the Giant"’ "tartine cat. her sn'! exptvted back until the end of Ma> — >e\ en week" .liter the mum — M ark Gokzales

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PA D R ES

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teammates say the third baseman is as tough as any ballplayer they know.

Which indicates how much Caminiti’s left shoulder bothered him re­ cently. he actually* • Caminiti savs * looked forward to receiving two cor­ tisone shots May I. The shots lessened the pain, and Caminiti hopes he will regain some power. He had 13 dou­ bles in the first 29 games but figures he would have had more than three home runs if his shoulder had been painfree. “ I've been chicken-winging my swing." he says. ...

The team apparently-will float one player on the disabled list all year to deal with nagging injuries and give manag­ er Bruce Bochy flexibility. Already, infielder Luis Lopez, outfielder Chris Gwynn and utilityman Craig Shipley have been on the D .L in succession.... The Team was hoping to face former teammate .Andy Benes whtjn S t Louis visited for a three-game set. But Benes, w-ho tfas not pursued by the Padres on the free-agent market Si a not pitch in the series.

Fast start In their first 14 home dates, the Padres averaged 24.962 fans, a 96 percent increase over 1995 at the same stage The team set a franchise record with 17 wins in -April. ... Wally Joyner, whose defense and hitting aided the fast start, went into a l-for-20 slide that dropped his average from .466 to .376.... Bochy on Rickey Henderson's reaction to the possibility of going on the disabled list with a strained rib cage: “He absolutely did not want to go on. He was pretty adamant. It shows you what kind of shape he's in. because I've seen that kind of injury take two or three weeks.” Henderson missed eight starts and appeared late in one game.... Minor leaguer Derrek Lee. Irving to make the jump from the Class A California League to the Class AA Southern League, struck out 20 times in his first 46 atbats. GAI. Kevin Towers says he envisions Lee. 21. as the successor to Joyner at first base.

— TOM KRASOVIC

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W -L 10-20 Place: 4th

Nipped: Last July. Al Nipper was the club's knight in shining armor. Today, he's the scapegoat for the worst start in franchise history. Nipper was re­ moved as pitching coach less than IO months after replacing veteran John Cumberland. Roving minor league pitching instructor Sammy Ellis has taken over. G.M. Dan Duquette says the team isn't blaming Nipper, but he re­ peatedly said he thinks he has a major league staff (many would question that) and that it wasn’t producing. The move angered several players, including Roger Clemens, a close friend of Nipper’s. Clemens declined to comment when the move was made and later said he was mum because he had few pleasant things to say. Ellis is the team’s fourth pitching coach in just over a year. Duquette didn’t rule out other coaching changes if the Sox don’t turn it around.

Inspired performance: .After failing to win his first six starts, Clemens pitched his best game in years the night Nipper was fired. He beat the Tigers. 5-1. in his first complete game since June 14.1994. His 13 strikeouts were the most since May ll. 1993. and he didn't walk a batter for the first time since July 21.1993.... Mike Greenwell. suffering from a partially torn ligament between the third and fourth knuckles of his left hand, was placed on the 15-day disabled list He suffered the injury in spring training and has been unable to swing properly. He w-as hitting .222. Third base­ man Tim Naehring. who had been disabled with a strained left hamstring, was activated.... Manager Kevin Kennedy called a workout four hours before the start of last Friday’s game against the Tigers and canceled a scheduled off day by ordering a IO a.m. workout. ... Mo Vaughn tied Fred Lynn's team record with eight home runs in .April and set a club mark by knocking in 28 during the month.... It took the Red Sox 28 games to win three in a row. and in doing so they climbed out of the East Division cellar for the first time this season.

— JOE GlUUOTTl

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W-L 16-14 Place: 2nd The right mix: Manager Davey John­ son has been forced to reconfigure the starting rotation for the second time, moving rookie Jimmy Haynes into the fourth slot and struggling lefthander Kent Mercker into the suing role. Mercker. who probably will start this weekend, was 2-1 with a 9.27 ERA after his first five starts. Haynes needed a big effort in relief (54 in­ nings) to get his ERA down to 9.50. but he showed such progress that he returned to the rotation last weekend against the Brewers— to yield eight hits and five runs in 54 innings of a 13-1 loss. ... Lefthander .Arthur Rhodes re­ turned to the bullpen, where he was outstanding in early .April. Johnson put him into the rotation because Haynes was struggling, but decided after two starts— one good and one bad— that he was better suited to relief. That*s fine with Rhodes, who sees himself as a Jose Mesa-type late-inning closer. Mesa, also an inconsistent starter in the Orioles or­ ganization. came into his own after the Indians moved him into short relief.... When Brady Anderson and B J. Surhoff each homered twice last Friday night, it was the first time since August 26,2992, that two Orioles had homered twice in the same game.... Anderson has already broken Don Bu­ ford’s team record of homers leading off a game.

Infield overload: Team officials are questioning the wisdom of carrying three utility infielders. Through 30 games, only reserve shortstop Manny Alexander had gotten a signifi­ cant number of appearances (IO). Jeff Huson had appeared in five games and Bill Ripken four. Johnson left open the possibility that the team will carry 12 pitchers as soon as righthander,Alan Mills returns from extended spring train­ ing. ... There was concern entering the season that the team would have trouble slowing opposing baserunners, and it was well founded. Through the first month of play.

Chris Hoiles and reserve Greg Zaun combined to throwout five of 31 runners trying to steal.

— PH W Seamen

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The Sporting News

STARTERS

DETROIT TIGERS

Scoc A tt* p lm r W I Clart* Rusty Greer* Daml Kamfcxu

W-L: 10-22 Place: 5th Strap yourselves In: The ultimate ug­ liness occurs for this pitching-starved club when it doesn't hit. So when Texas' Ken Hill and Roger Pavlik pitched consecutive one-hitters against the Tigers last weekend, it was a reminder of how bad things could get before the rebuilding project produces some re suits. Forty straight barters went hitless spanning the Hill and Pavlik games; Hill retired the last 26 in a row. Pavlik's gem was the Tigers' 14th loss in 16 games and came three nights after Roger Clemens' 13-strikeout. 6-1 victory over Detroit. A Hill no-hitler would have been especially mortiiying in light of the fact that the Tigers traded Hill IO years ago for catcher Mike Heath ... A slowdown by Cecil Field­ er was the key to the offensive slump .After hitting three homers .April ib in Toronto, giving him nine for the season. he homered once in the next 17 games. Fielder says pitch­ ers have been staving outside against him; also. his pro­ tection from the No. 5 spoL Melvin Nieves, missed IO starts with a sore left calf.... Manager Buddy Bell says too many hitters are swinging for the fences.

Dying by toe sword: Going after the hitters aggressively helped reliever Mike Christopher become the pitching staffs most pleasant surprise last season. His aggressive.

14-walk total (in 61 innings) helped him lead the league in percentage of inherited runners stranded. But this time around, hitters knowing they're going to get strikes are tee­ ing off to the tune of 12 homers in his first 25U innings. He allowed eight last season.... Bell is giving Kknera Bar tee some starts in center field because of the vast territory he can cover But Bar tee must prove he can handle major league pitching. The righthanded hitter has begun expert* menting with switch-hitting. ... Gregg Olson, unscored upon in his first four outings, is quickly* cementing an im­ portant bullpen role after being obtained from the Reds for minor league infielder Yuri Saiichez.

— REID CREASER

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came the latest Yankees second base­ man hurt when he strained his left groin. Duncan, leading the league in hitting at the time of the injury, joined Pat Kelly (shoulder) and Tony Fernandez (elbow) on the disabled list, leaving the club with a predicament at second base.

The plan is to employ rookie .Andy Fox for now. The team has had talks involving Dodgers second baseman Delino DeShields and Mickey Morandini of the Phillies. General manager Bob Watson has said he doesn’t w-ant to mortgage tlv* future to add a second baseman. Kelly is expected back after the .All-Star break. However. Fernandez's status is less certain.... Mariano Rivera, who threw 13 consecutive hit­ less innings at one point, was the club's.most valuable play­ er during a five^game winning streak that moved it to the top of the A .L East.

The good doctor A shortened delivery is being given cred­ it for Dwight Gooden's resurgence. He threw six scoreless innings against the White Sox.... Gerald Williams has been so hot that he has worked his way into a platoon for now with Tim Raines.... The organization's worries over David Cone's circulation troubles were allayed when Cone threw a complete game in beating the White Sox >1. Cone is among the league leaders with a 2.03 ERA.... .Andy Pettitte finally experienced some adversity, allowing eight runs in one official inning against the Orioles.... The club released Dion James, and a few days later James w-as charged with marijuana possession after a traffic stop. ... The Yankees aa- stealing bases more than in recent years, with 25 steals in 32 attempts. Bernie Williams already has seven steals....

Tino Martinez was breaking out of his early slump and was beginning to win over fans. ... Jim Leyritz's role has in­ creased under Joe Torre, who has employed the utilityman at third base. ... Derek Jeter has impressed the club's boss­ es with his aggressiveness at the plate.

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is trying to save this team before the season gets away. He blew IO save op­ portunities last year. and he blew his first chance this season. But he fol­ lowed that with nine consecutive saves and didn’t allow an earned run in 164 innings. “Roberto’s going to be the man this year."

Indians closer Jose Mesa says. Hernandez wasn’t too im­ pressed with himself, however. “It's not a one-mile race: it s a marathon." he says. Hernandez was frustrated at not being able to stop a four-game skid at Cleveland and New York af­ ter the team won seven in a row. It reminded him of last sea­ son. when the Indians won four straight from the Sox and cost manager Gene Lamont his job. “I didn't get into any of those games, either, because we were always behind. Gene didn't lose those games We lost them all by ourselves."

Lefthanded complement After making nine relief appear­ ances. Joe Magrane joined the rotation as the fifth starter.

Manager Terry Bevington based his decision on Magrane’s \?\ career starts and his desire for a lefthander to go with Wilson .Alvarez. ... First baseman Frank Thomas won his sixth career Player of the Month Award. His April numbers: .379 average. 9 home runs, 25 RBrs and 20 runs.... When .Alex Fernandez lost to New York. 5-1. the only Yankees to touch second base did so because of home runs. He gave up four, including one with a man on. “This stadium is a joke." he savs of Yankee Stadium's short fences. “One (ball) # should have been a double and two others were fly bails, but in this park they go out"... The Sox lost. 5-3. to former teammate Jack McDowell at Cleveland. “Jacks a great com­ petitor." shortstop Ozzie Guillen says. “He doesn't care who he’s pitching against but he brings out his best for us." Club chairman Jerry Reinsdorf took the defeat in stride. “I've al­ ways liked Jack." he says. “It was only on his contracts that we disagreed. I’d like to see him win another Cy Young, but in the National League."

— JO E GOODARD

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W*L: 14-16 Place: 3rd Jaazen makes (ump: Marty Janzen.

who was obtained from the Yankees in the David Cone deal last year, was called up last Saturday from Class AAA Syracuse. Toronto's bullpen was depleted in 8-7 and 84 losses to Boston. “We’ll put Janzen out there and po from there." manager Cito Gaston says, "lf he shows he deserves a start, hell get one. but he won’t just be given one." Janzen. who is expected to be a starter in Toronto before the end of the season, was 3-1 with a 6.51 ERA at Syracuse. ... On the second anniversary of the el­ bow injury that threatened to end his career. Frank Viola started against the Red Sox. on the same mound where he was hurt. He gave up five runs in 4* innings, including four in the first. He has surrendered 13 runs in the first two in­ nings of his two starts. "I don't want to hear the word ‘comeback' anv • more." Viola savs.

9 “I don't want to wait three or four starts for results. I want it now."... Erik Han­ son beat the Brewers last Thursday for his first win since .April ll. “The team has been there to pick me up." he says.

“But realistically. I still haven’t had any good games yet."

Guzman stays hot Juan Guzman is making general manag­ er Cord .Ash's gamble look good. .Ash was fried by the me­ dia for renewing Guzman’s contract at $2.25 million, after the righthander had only four wins last year. Guzman was named .AL Pitcher of the Month for .April. Besides his four wins. the biggest surprise is that Guzman is turning in eight innings per start.... The second base platoon is over. for the moment Domingo Cedeno, who leads the club in hitting, was named the regular second baseman and No. 2 hitter late last week. “Its easier to see the ball and have the confidence when you’re playing every day.* says Cedeno. who beat out Tilson Brito and Felipe Crespo.... Joe Carter became the career leader in homers by a visiting player at Fenway when he hit Nos. 19and 20. He had been tied at 18 with Babe Ruth and Gary Gaetti.

— STEVE MUTO*

RELIEVER

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C E N T R A L

CLEVELAND INDIANS W-L: 20-9 Place: 1st Room for improvement: Even as the indians enjoyed a stretch of IT wins in 20 parries. general manager John Hart was working to make small cor­ rections Middle relief has been a problem as .-Man Embree and Paul Shuey tried and tailed in the role.

Bulb were sent to Class AAA for Jurther seasoning But Embree was back in late .April because of an injury to Chad i >gea. the latest pitcher to try his hand as a middle reliev­ er “ None ot our kids have stepped up and gotten it done."

Hart says. He says some consideration has been given lo carr ying IL’ pitchers. “W e ll go a couple of turns around the rotation and see what happens" Ogea is on the disabled list with tendinitis in his right shoulder Both he and Hart think a change in his job assignment might have con­ tributed to the injury T m not going to lie to you." Ogea says "(think that might have something to do with it " Hart agrees that Ogea's arm hurts because of the move to the bullpen. ... Able Lopez, calk'd up (rom Buffalo when Ogea was sent to the bullpen, struggled in his first three starts. giving up seven home runs in lo innings. He has a history ol losing >5 mph on his last ball after three or four innings.

1,000 and counting: Carlos Baerga recently collected his l.iKHiih career hit at the age of 27. So what are the chances hell join the exclusive group of 20 players with 3.000? “Car­ los probably will play another IO years or more. so I think 3a XK> is a very reachable goal." manager Mike Hargrove says Baerga doubled .April 30 tor No 1.000. becoming the _Vth Indian (o reach the milestone ... Before Mav rn 3. Charles Nag) never had won in the Kingdom? or Metrodome. com­ piling an 0-9 record Nag) ended the streak when he held the .Manners to two runs in 7:* innings for a 5-3 w in.... .After sweeping a two-game series against the second-place White Nix. Hargrove warned. “Its too early for messages. .And on the other side, the)' can sa) the) sent us a message bv nev­ er being out of the game " — S hsdgh Dcker

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W-L: 11-20 Place: 5th Robodjr's called: Despite persistent ru­

mors about a trade for pitcher Kevin .Appier, no clubs have called to dis­ cuss the possibility1 , genera) manager l l Berk Robinson says. .Appier, who can become a free agent nexl winter, says he wants to stay in Kansas City, but can the club afford to keep him at $5 miilion-pius a year? By midseason, expect the Orioles’ Pat Gillick to pick up the phone .. Two two-run home runs by Bob Hamelin in Min­ nesota give hope that the Hammer is back. That is as many homers as he had hit in 24 previous games.... .After having six homers in 22 games, the learn hii 11 during a six-game trip to Boston and Minnesota Robinson suffered a bro­ ken let! wrist when hit by rookie catcher Sal Fasano's foul ball "I'd be worried about next year's contract if I was Sal i'asano." 0Kikes 9lav• Hinrichs. Robinson's assistant. lf at first Manager Bob Boone installed David Howard at shortstop and began playing Jose ( hiennan at first baste Of­ ferman. who had made five errors m his first eight games 3t shortstop, had never played first base but has been doing a good job there "He's got good hands, a shortstop's hands."

Boone says “As he's getting more comfortable there, he's fvrn truly a professional hitter He s swinging the bat a lot o«r.er' I rue enough In ( hirrman s first eight games a>a Mrs* baseman, he hit Splatter a JIO start "ive never had arn problem hitting, and now that I’m playing regularly. I ve got the opportunity to make adjustments." Ofierman says t Hittielder Craig Baguette, called up from Class AAA Om­ aha. immediately hit a bonn run against the Twins. “The guy kills us \ \ \ amazing." Twins manager Tom Kelly says.

I: was Paquette's sixth homer against the Twins, he has 2<> his career To make* room tor Paquette, the* club released outfielder Patrick Irnnon .After making 21 errors in their firs, iv* games, the Royals went six games without an error 'Hie b u llan is struggling, sd look tor changes in the ro­

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— Dick Kaegei

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W-L 14-15 Place: 3 rd Ealy and often: The Twins’ 175 runs scored in .April is an .American League record, surpassing the 169 scored by the Tigers in 1993. Of course, the sea­ son started a week earlier this year.

Only once before have the Twins played 25 games in the season’s first month—in 1994. “What I like about it is that our offense is not relying on the home run ball/ Paul Molitor says. TVe're getting a few. but one of (manager) Tom Kelly’s things is to try to get more hits than the other team."... A specialist ex­ amined Rick Aguilera and determined that the tendinitis in Aguilera’s right wrist did not worsen when he made one start last month. Although Aguilera is expected to be out un­ til at least late May. the Twins were relieved.

Cheers ta Meares: Off to the best offensive start of his ca­ reer. Pat Meares collected 22 RBls in his first 23 games and was on a pace to drive in 127. With Kirby Puckett out of the lineup. Meares' offense has been an added boost Meares' career high is 49 RBIs. set last season. Meares says the biggest difference is that he has been more locked in on each at-bat than ever before. “A lot of times with runners in scoring position, (pitchers) aren't going to throw you a fast­ ball/ he says. “So you take pitches that are borderline. Ive been getting good-hitting counts. With runners in scoring position. I’m trying not to be too aggressive. You see what a guy is throwing. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t Sometimes I’m 0 and 2. but sometimes you work yourself to 2 and 0 or 3 and 1/ ... Puckett, out with glauco­ ma in his right eye. was threatening to take batting practice.

“I’m starting to champ at the b it" Puckett says. “I’m taking it a day at a time and seeing what happens." Although Puck­ ett isn't expected to play anytime soon, and can’t until he re­ ceives the clearance of his doctor, he says whether he takes batting practice is up to him .... The Twins recalled Denny Hocking from Class .AAA Salt Lake and outfielder Man Law­ ton was optioned down.

— SCOTT MUUS

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W-L: 1 3 -1 6 Place: 4 th Knuckled under A string of shaky out­ ings put knuckleball Steve Sparks on the brink os' a demotion to-Class AAA New Orleans. Sparks, arguably the club's most valuable pitcher last season, has struggled to locate his knuckleball since spring training. He lost three consecutive starts, giving up nine homers in the process, and saw his ERA balloon to 8.83. Lefty Brian Givens. who began the season on a rehab assignment with New Or­ leans, is waiting to replace Sparks in the rotation. Givens, a former replacement player, made his big-ieague debut last season and will have to be added to the 40-man roster to bt1 activated.... Heading into action .April 22. the club's pitching staff led the league with a 3.80 ERA In the ensuing 11 games, thai figure rocketed to 5.06. In a span of six games, the club allowed 16 homers.... With the bullpen struggling, the club sent righthanders Mark Kiefer and Cris Carpenter to New Orleans and replaced them with Marshall Boze and Ramon Garcia. Garcia spent last season pitching in Venezuela and last pitched in the big leagues in 1991 for the White Sox. Fiscal fiasco: Because of what is termed “a bad cash-flow projection." several higher-paid players were asked to defer a portion of their salaries until January—when the club will get its payment from Major League Baseball's central fund.

Team president Bud Selig says there is no relation between the short-term problem and the club’s continuing quest to finance its new stadium. Sources say about six players— all of whom make more than $ 1 million— were asked to defer a total of about $1.5 million. Four players, including righthander Ben McDonald, complied with the request and will receive their deferred payments—with interest—this winter. .At least two players declined because they are com­ mitted to other investments.... First baseman Dave Nils­ son began a rehab assignment with New Orleans last week and is close to returning. Center fielder Chuck Carr (ham­ string) also was to begin a rehab stint.

— DREW

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OAKLAND ATHLETICS Untimely: Just as Soon Brosius was oft to the type of season that could ele­ vate him into the American League's elite status, everything unraveled with one Mark Gubicza fastball.

Brosius suffered a broken bone in his right wrist last Saturday and is exjxvted to miss six to IO weeks. He was playing Gold Glove type defense at third base, and his on-base percentage 1 479) led the league. “We're missing the best third basemarv-tn this league." manager .Art Howe says. “ He caught everything and made it look easy. We’re going to miss him. no ifs ands or buts ~Jason Giambi moves lo Third base. his natural position Ctiambi had been filling in at first base while M ark M cG w ire rehabbed his right loot. Since Mc-Gwire's return. Giambi had been DK. a role he did not enjoy as his .ITS C.Mor-17) average shows. Giambi is hitting 337 (3lMor-9M when he plays in the field Mop-up man: Todd Can Popper* days as a starting pitcher ended after he allowed six runs in two innings last week against the .Angels. Howe moved Van Poppei to the bullpen. where lu* will be the long reliever or the pitcher in charge al tnop-up duty. "It s (Howe s! division.* Van Poppei says.

"I'm fine with it. I’m not happy with the way I'm throwing.

Maybe the {"bullpen) is where I belong." Howe says: "We have to deal with reality— he's struggling. We wen* hoping never to have hi do this" Van Poppei was replaced*!!* the ro­ tation by lion B in g e n . ... Pitcher Steve Karsay has im­ proved to the point where pitching coach Bob Cluck is pn*dieting the righthander will be in the rotation before the end 01 thi> season Karsay s surgically repaired right elbow swelled badly alter a tw in n in g outing two weeks ago ...

Outfielder Jose Herrera, who was at Class .AN Huntsville. was activated when Brosius was placed on the disabled list inst sunday Reliever Aaron Small, taken off the 3 - man rubier alter two atrocious outings, cleared waivers and was .sig n e d lo Cia-" -AAA Edmonton — PEDRO GOMEZ

RELIEVER

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Reality check: l^ee Smith is beginning lo lone down his comments- First, the.38-year-old reliever with a sore knot' refund to po on a minor-league rehab assignment. Then he consent­ ed to a v>ne-inninp appearance When he was told to make a second rehab appearance. Smith said no. Then he (ofd reporters he’d rather be traded than be a setup man Or he’d rather retire.

All the while. Troy IVrriva! has been firing JOtVnph las!balls and converting all of his save opportunities. At some point. Smith realized his alternatives “I don’t own the team, and I don't have a choice.” Smith says now. 'ANTen they say. ‘Smitty. po pitch.’.TH pitch " ... Reliever Bryan Harvey, coming back from elbow surgery, thinks he could return within two weeks But manager Marcel Uchemann thinks a month is more realistic The single-season record holder tiir saves t4d in I W11 will return as a setup man.

Heaven might walt: The deal that gives Disney control of the team will finally go through May I ? — unless it hap­ pens November o ( )r not at all. .Anaheim taxpayers seem to be a lad upset that the City Council pledged S30 mil­ lion of their money to help the B ait Disney Co, renovate .Anaheim stadium. .Angry residents met. hoping to find a way to put the issue on the ballot in November. But no­ body with the organization or Disney Baseball Enterpris­ es. Inc., seems too worried about a taxpayer revolt.... As a player. Rod Carew made more than his share of enemies rn the media, so when he needed the media s help. he wasn’t sure what to expect. His daughter was dying of leukemia and without a matching bone marrow donor. she didn t stand much chance. Carew had to ask the me­ dia to spread the word about how to become a bone mar­ row donor. .After Michelle’s death. Carew faced reporters: “You didn’t allow the problems I put you through to stop you from trying to help us. and I thank vou from the bot­ tom of my heart."

— :DAVE CUNNINGHAM

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SEATTLE IViARINERS W*L; 17-14 Place: 3 r d Left o u t The Mariner> hit a rnajor leagui'-record 4-i home runs in Apnl. bul there was little contribution from left field. Slav• was ooh’ * a tew- davs » old when m anager Io u Piniella sought help elsew here by prom oting Brian H unter and D arren Bragg from Class AAA Tacoma. In his first al-bat fast Saturday. Bragg homered in a 5-1 victory over the Indians. Bragg started the sea­ son in left field but struggled offensiveK' and was sent to Tacoma. Rich .Amaral and .Alex Diaz took over on a platoon basis, but neither caught fire. "'VVeVe going to let (Bragg) play out there and see how he does." Piniella says, “.^l I want him lo do is gel on base and score some runs. I don't care how he does it" ... Shortstop .Andy Sheets was sched­ uled lo return lo Tacoma last Tuesday Sheets joined the M ariners on .April 22 when .Alex Rodriguez suffered a pulled left ham string and went on the 15-day disabled list.

Sheets played in four gam es, starung two. and went 3-for9 with two RBls. Al* shook up: The Kingdome has receried its share of bad raps during its 20-year existence, faut the concrete stru c­ ture drew praise w-hen it withstood an earthquake that reg­ istered 5.4 on the Richter scale. The tem blor hit last T h u iv day night during a gam e between the .Mariners and Indi­ ans. 'I was in the trainer's room weighing myself." center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. says. "J thought I was getting dizzy."

The game was suspended and completed the following day after structural engineers inspected the Kingdome and found no signs of quake d am ag e.... Randy Johnson's starts are becom ing shorter, and his list of ailm ents is getting longer. A tight right calf m uscle sent the ace lefthander to an early exit in a start May I against the R angers and forced him to miss his scheduled start last Monday. 'I don't know w hat's wrong or how I did ii." Johnson says. "My calf cram ped, my ham string is bothering me and so is mv (lowe n back. I don’t want to talk right now " — Jim $TKHT

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W-L; 20-11 Place: 1st Stingy pttcfiiog: The club became the first A .L team since 1917 to pitch back-to-back one-hiners when Ken Hill and Roger Pavlik did it against th eT ig ers l ^ weekend. Hill beat the Tigers. I I-O. allowing only an infield single on a grounder off his glove.

Pavlik beal the Tigers, 3-1. allowing only .Mark Lewis' home run. Hill and Pavlik also set a club record by combining to retire 40 conseculri'e hitters. Pavlik had allowed 19 runs in his three previous outings. ‘It's nice to get one like th a t as bad as I've been throwing." Pavlik says. M anager Johnny Dates was almost as thrilled to s e r starters throw back-toback gam es without walking a hiner, Rangers starters had been walking S.b batters per nine innings. Last Sunday. three pitchers combined to complete a sweep of the Tigers. >2. allowing no walks and five hits. Before the one-hitlers. the club's starters had been averaging 5.6 innings per s ta rt Right directfoa: First basem an Will Clark, tired of hitting balls right at people, started wearing a com pass around his neck- He had five hits in the first two gam es wearing it. En­ tering the w-eek. Clark had reached 'oase in 31 consecutive gam es this season and 40 straight going back to last sea­ son.

O utfielder Juan Gonzalez had 3(> RBls in the Rangers' first 31 gam es. .. The 19-11 start m atched the d u b 's best record after 30 gam es. .. Shortstop Benj) Gii. who IS on the disabled list with a back problem, began his rehabilitation assignm ent the day his replacement. Kevin B ister was named the club's player of the m onth tor .April. .. For the third consecutive season, the club is complaining about the condition of the field at The Ballpark in Arlington.

The problem goes beyond browm <pois in the outfield. The Ranger^ don't like the short cut oi the grass, which cuts down the range of infielders and -lutfielders. The Rangers have been told by their grounds crew that the grass can't be grown longer because of the sand base, w-hich was insuiled because 'n dram s quickly — T.R, SuUJVftJl

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NFL REPORT

Scoring is soaring for reasons other than QBs

Hob GLAUBER >k m ost genera! m anager^. coachee and s c o u t ' about th e state ot NFL q u a r t e r b a c k '. and th e verdict is rn*arb u n a n im o u s T h e r e aren't eno ugh pood o nes lo po around.

The latest evidence of the problem In this w a r s draft, not a single quarterback was taken in die first nmnd lur the first tinx- smoe 1 ^ 8 ll tht •situation is so dire, how do you explain dial scoring is at its highest level since 1985? Or thai 16 quarterbacks pasted for mort* than 3.000 yards last season? Or dial four of them— including three trom the previously run-dominaled NTX' Centra]— surpassed 4.000 yards5 .-VII this. desp ite the le a g u e s annual g rip in g about th e supposed lack of quality tripperm on and. a b s . superstar passers Dan Marino. Jo h n Etw-ay and jim Kel­ ly lading off into their Hall of Fam e sunsets.

So why th e su d d en s u rg e in th e passing g a m e 5 T h ere are five Rey reasons.

1. Rules changes. Alter scoring bottom ed out to 37 4 points per g a m e in 1903. league o fficial' tin k e re d with th e r u l e ' to o p en up th e of len se Tin* big c h a n g e w as a stricter

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Banned practice: Gmgiihn's taiu tita n camps arr tic m en

A lesson learned Pennsylvania high school basketball star Kobe "Bryan; iN m aking new s with his drvision to forgo co lleg e and ju m p right into th e NBA. M ight we y r a high school football s ta r tr \ to m a k e a ju m p to th e S F I / "It am id happen one d a y ' J <ts director of player adnuniy tuition Pat Kirwan says •'You get a good young running back over JI pounds who wants to make dx* jump, and I am id see it happening ’

e n lo rc e m e n t of th e five-yard ch u ck rule. in w hich an elipibie receiv er can bt* hit by a d e te n d e r only within five yards of th e line of scrim m age “Enforcing th e chuck rule has allowed the p assin g g a m e to be a little m o re prom inent th an it was." say s (h a n ts g e n e ra l m an ag e r G e o rg e Young, co-chairm an of th e league's com petitio n cont mitt i t T ry a lot m ore prom inent In 1993. four q u a rte rb a c k s threw for at least JI) touch dow ns. Last seaso n . IJ q u a r te r b a c k s threw at least 20 tou ch d o w n p a s se s And th re e NFC C entral q u a r te r ­ b a c k s — G re en B a•r's Brett Favre. M innesola's W a rren M oon and D etro it's Scott M itchell— com bined for 103 touchdow ns.

2. The short passing game. Call it the Wesj Coast offense. Or TThe Jersey Shore" offense, as Eagles coach Ray Rhodes calls the short-passing attack he has instaDed. This much is d e a r The proliferation of the short passing game has made it significantly easier for quarterbacks to complete a higher percentage of passes.

3. Era of the receiver. Can y o u re m e m b e r a tim e w hen th e r e w ere so m any do m in an t re ceiv ers in th e g a m e ? T h e proliferation is stunnin g So. even if w e’re not see in g a surge in quality q u a r te r b a c k s co m in g into the league, the ab u n d an ce of wide receiver talent is m aking up for any defidency. C om bine that with tile w idesp read use of th e s h o rt passing g a m e , w h e re a com pletion of a 5-yard slant tu r n s into an 80-yard to u c h d o w n , and the n u m b e rs are certain to look better. .And don't be s u rp ris e d to see th e trend co n tin u e. .After all. m any p e rso n n e l people are calling this y e a r's draft class of wide re ­ ceiver*. including Keyshawn Jo h n so n . T e rry

But whethtT ti couki happen and whether it should happen an- difhTvnl matter* Even though many star college play er* jump to dx- NTT. draft after dx'ir junior seasons. dx- mes­ sage irum league officials is clear I Kin t a m - out too soon "We ri v e ry sen sitive to th? issu e." G iants g e n e ra l m a n a g e r G e o rg e Young >si\s “(T he college y e a rs J a re a vers im p o rtan t tim e w hen it c o m e s to th e p h y s i­ cal and menial maturity ot an ath lete if you co m e out too soon, you won I be ready ” And even it college play­ e r s pa*.s up NX AA eligibility tv go pro. they shouldn't for­ get about com p letin g th eir education •lust ask C o wbovs • ru n n in g back Em m in Smith. w ho last week m ade good on a p ro m ise lo his m o th e r by grad u atin g from the I ' Diver­ sity ot H o n d a Sm ith had passed up his senior season in 1999 and w as th e Cowbo y s’ first-round draft pick.

So why would Sm ith feel a need to re tu r n to school even th o u g h h e 's financially

Golden receiver Rice heads a list o f dom inant uideouts who can make up for defir.ent quarterbacks and turn short passes into long scoring strikes.

G lenn. M arvin H arrison an d E ddie Kennison. o n e of th e b est in re c e n t m em ory.

M aybe ever.

4.

M ultiple-receiver sets. A few- years ago. s e n d in g five re ceiv ers sim u ltaneou sly would have been unthinkable. Or. at th e verv least, an easy way to have y o ur q u a rte rb a c k c a rrie d off on a s tr e tc h e r after being pum m eled by th e p ass ru sh .

But th e S te e l e d u se d that unconventional set last season and m ade it to the Super Bowl.

Now th at fo rm e r S te e le rs q u a r te rb a c k Neil O 'D onnell and offensive co o rd in ato r Ron Erh a rd t a re in New York. you can expect the J e ts to use it. too. .And co n sid erin g th e long h isto ry of copycat behavior in th e N F L o th ­ e rs are su re to join in.

“It's one way of getting s^eed and s p re a d ­ ing out th e field out." O 'D onnell says. “W ith defensive linem en b ein g able to ru s h the p asser so quickly, if you can get th e ball out to th e receiver in a h u rry , y o u ’r e goin g to have so m e success."

sec u re for die rest of his life5 p e rio d ." NFLPA e x e c u tiv e d irecto r G en e I p sh aw says.

“A solid education is endBut wait T h e re 's m ore New cal.” h e says “T h o s e may be just w o rd s to so m e people, • ru le s g o v ern in g spring mini­ but I believe in ed u catio n ca m p s prohibit m ost contact . d rills .And any co a c h e s who and ail it h a s to offer.”

Well said Hopefully, o th ­ s ta g e co n tact drills will be e rs will follow his exam ple fined by th e le a g u e It's 610,000 for th e first infrac­ The Coughlin nile tion up to 6;kU >00 for s u b s e ­ Players around the league q u e n t offen ses. “W hat we w ere finding is that players w ere co n cern ed that Jaguars coach Tom C oughlin asked w ere g e ttin g h u rt d u rin g p lay ers to re p o rt early to . contact drills in th e s e m in i­ cam ps." I'p sh a w says. Onetraining ca m p for what was te rm e d a "v o lu n tarv on-one drills involving c o n ­ • ” session But according to new tact are p ro h ib ited , and ru le s from th e NFL H a vrn e rs • te am s cannot hold 7-on-7. 9Association and ag reed to by on-7 o r 11-un-11 drills that in­ th e le a g u e 's M a n a g e m e n t clude live contact C ouncil, c o a c h e s can no Quick hits lo nger ask players to report early. E n d e r the guidelines.

E agles offensive tackle no team can hold a m ini­ I B ernard Williams, suspended ca m p — v o lu n tary or o th e r - 1 last year tor su b s ta n c ^ a b u se wise— within IO d avs of the ' p ro b lem s, h a s filed a g riev ­ official sta rt of training ance against th e team , which camp. T eam s are allowed to w ithheld a p o rtio n of his open training cam p s no e a r­ signing b o n u s because of his lier than 15 days before their absence. Williams is ©peeled first exhibition. to apply for and be g ra n te d a "B asically, re q u e st to b e re in stated for # it b e c o m e s a lCkdav m a n d a to ry vacation this season. T he Eagles will 0

■ •

give him a shot to continue. but they have taken p re c a u ­ tions n e v e rth e le s s. T h e ir first-round draft pick was tackle J e rm a in e M a y b e rry of T e x a s A&M -Kingsville. w ho initially will be u se d at left guard. It the season were to start today, the Eagles' left tackle would be lo rm e r 49er Steve Wallace T h e E agles have given Wallace jersey No. 74. th e n u m b e r h e wore in San F ran cisco. The num­ ber was taken from Williams....

T h e R avens don't have to w o rry about first-round tackIe Jo n a th a n O g d e n m issin g training ca m p b ec au se of his Olym pic d ream . O g d en is a top-notch shot-putter. but says h e h a s little c h a n c e of m aking the U.S. team at next m o n th 's Olym pic trials. His c a r e e r best is 63-8. and he th in k s h e l l need to add at least four feet D o n ’t be su rp rised lo see form er B row ns personnel di­ re c to r M ike L om bardi's n a m e s u rfa c e a s a possible front-office candidate in New E ng land , especially in the •

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5.

Time heals all wounds. Jim H arbaugh: a failure in Chicago. Jeff G eorge: couldn't get out of his way in Indianapolis. Scott Mitchell: a w aste of a S5 million sig h in g b o n u s in Detroit.

T h e lesson h ere: P atien ce, patience, pa­ tience. Q u a rte rb a c k is arguably th e m ost dif­ ficult and com plex position in pro sp o rts, and th e ap p ren ticesh ip y e a rs are fraught with in­ terceptio ns and innuendo. W asted draft pick, they intimate. H e ll never pan out. they com ­ plain.

Well. g u e s s w-hat? T hey often do pan out. if they m an ag e to survive long e n o u g h .' .And you do n't have to b e a h igh-round draft pick, either. M itchell, w ho th re w for 4.338 y ard s and 32 touchdow ns, w as a fo u rth rou n d pick of th e D olphins in 1990. .And the last two .AFC q u a r te r b a c k s to reach th e S u­ per Bowl w ere O ’Donnell, th e S teeiers' thirdro u n d pick in 1990. and San D iego's blan H u m p h rie s, w ho w as B obby B e a th a rd 's sixth-round steal with th e R edskins in 1988. w ake of the Christian Peter drafrday fiasco. l,om bardi and P atrio ts a ssistan t Bill Be* lichick w orked well to g e th e r in Cleveland. Lom bardi also I h a s been m entioned as a can­ d id a te for a front-office job I with th e Raiders. .. F or the first tim e since 1981. neither th e ( h a n ts nor J e ts will play on M onday night. Both , te am s wouldn't mind a re ru n of w hat h a p p e n e d from that season, w-hen they recovered • from disap p o in tin g re c o rd s ■ th e p reviou s y ea r to m ake i the playoffs as wild cards. ♦ B o b G la u b e r co vers the

SFL for Newsdav 0

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May 13,1996

BALTIMORE RAVENS

of the minicamp. That probably would not have happened under previous coach Bill B e lichick.

— M in P resto

Linebacker limits: Because the team is close to

BUFFALO BILLS A challenge m i l s : Jeff Burris isn’t assuming the starting left cornerback job he left last November will be waiting for him in September. He knows rookies Marlon K erner and Ken Irvin performed exceptionally well in his place in the final sev­ en weeks of the season. “I have to compete to get my job back." Burris says. “I can't take anything for granted because two young guys cam e in and played very well.” So did Bur­ ris— for the 8V«gam es he played before suffer­ ing a torn anterior cruciate ligament that re­ quired major surgery. Burris, who will turn 24 in June, has made a strong recovery'. Although he didn’t participate in non-contact minicamp drills recently, he is expected to return to ac­ tion when training camp opens in July. “My leg feels great," he says. kagtkm la te -fp o d flitf? T he team always seem s to unearth impact players in the later rounds of the d raft It might have done it again with Colorado State cornerback Raymond Jackson, a fifth-rounder. .At least Jackson thinks so. “Iv e been known as a playmaker. and that's one thing I think I can bring to the team," he says. “I think I’m a big-play player." ... O utside linebacker/defensive end Gabe N orthern, the team ’s second-round pick from

VT'<5

CINCINNATI BENGALS Moving day: Before mini­ camp opened, the offen­ sive line was told what everyone expected since the final game of last sea­ son: Melvin Tuten is the new left tackle, replacing Kevin Sargent. Sargent moves to left guard, where he played against the Vikings on C hristm as Eve because the Bengals needed someone to handle John Ran­ dle inside. I ts not all that new to Tuten. He went against som e of the NFL’s finer pass rushers as a rookie as the extra tight end on nickel downs. He has light feet and mobility, but he’s trying to work on staying square as he drops into pass protection. ... Sargent couldn’t work in the minicamp because of a rehabbing ankle, but he is expected to be ready for training camp. ... A good sign? The last time the Bengals gathered to begin a season with a fifth-year quarterback and a fifth-year coach who had had the same offensive coor­ dinator for three consecutive seasons was 1988. Boomer Esiason. Sam Wyche and Bruce Coslet helped the Bengals get to the Super Bowl that season.

Roll call; T he team had no idea w here line-

ss?** aiitf»ttsv •wit >o noi

the salary cap. it was unable to seriously pur­ sue outside linebacker Kevin Greene and has decided to look for less expensive players at that position. Linebacker Mike Croel. who started 14 gam es for the Giants last season, visited the Ravens last week. Form er Steepers linebacker Gerald Williams, who was out of the league last season, was expected to visit Baltimore entering the week, t h e team was expected to interview several m ore free agents by next week.

Sitting tight The team 's on-again. off-again in­ terest in former Jets tight end Johnny Mitchell was off entering the week. Director of football operations Ozzie Newsom e says he is no longer encouraged the Ravens will sign Mitchell, who is seeking a contract for about $1.4 million. So the search continues for a tight end who can stretch the field down the middle. Frank Hartley, who played in IS gam es last season and may be the best block­ ing tight end on the team. was a no-show for the first w eek of the team ’s two-week mini­ camp. The team owns exclusive rights to Hart­ ley, but it can’t fine him because he is not un­ der c o n tra c t H artley's a g e n t Robert Kings­ ley, says his player is upset the Ravens offered the minimum salary for a third-year player and a signing bonus that is less than what a seventh-round pick gets. T he front office isn’t sweating, so expect H artley to attend training cam p .... New coach Ted M archibroda already has shown he is a players coach, giving the team a three-day weekend after the first half

Louisiana State, is looking forward to getting expert instruction from two of the league's prem ier defensive players. “Being with guys I like Bruce Smith and Bryce Paup. that can only make me a better player." N orthern says.

“I could learn a whole lot.''

—Vie CARUCCI

Heartily tiger Bengals running back Kl-ja m Carter takes a handoff during minicamp backer Jam es Francis was or what he was do­ ing before minicamp. He blew off the last month of workouts at Spinney Field despite a $250,000 workout clause and the need to re­ hab from ankle surgery. For the first time in Francis' seven-year career, club officials thought they succeeded in getting Francis to work out in Cincinnati, but he disappeared af­ ter two months. They hope th e re s a reason, but no one has talked to him.— feOFF HotSfM

A W HoLe NeW B A L I G A D

Don't w a it until F all to g et som e Pro F oo tball action. G et a face full -flT

of th e World L eag u e. NFL rules.

A m e ric a n p la y e rs. Now on fX.

................................."

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is brough*. lo you by the HFL cmd Fox Sports en d soon on t

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AFC *41-

May 13.1996

similar manner." ... Quarterback Glenn Fo­ ley. who had surgery last November to re pair his dislocated throwing shoulder, ex­ pects to be IOO percent by A c start of train­ ing camp. Foley has Arown 50-yard passes at informal workouts, but he was held out of A e recent minicamp as a precaution. The in­ jury was a tremendous blow to Foley's progress. A six months, he has gone from a possible starter to a Aird-stringer. Veteran Frank Reich was signed to back up Neil O' DonnelL Was Dyke Impresses: Wide receiver Alex Van Dyke, a surprise second-round pick from Nevada, was impressive in Ae minicamp.

T h e kid’s exciting.- coach Rich Kotite says.

“He explodes after he catches it." Some de­ fensive players says Van Dyke outperformed Keyshawn Johnson. A e No. I overall pick.

Johnson appeared to have trouble beating bump-and-nin coverage. The former USG star said his main objective was to learn A e of­ fense. ... The Jets are looking for defensive tackles. Their current starters are Matt Brock and Marc Spindler.

— RKH CHOK

discuss BeAs' contract only to say Ae Steel­ ed would like to come up wiA anoAer pack­ age Aat would eliminate Aat clause. BeAs has a good chance to be Ae Steelers' featured back A is season, even wiA Erne Pegram around.

Bam Morris' future is uncertain, and Bettis fits in perfectly wiA Ae Steelers’ power running game. Also, his blocking fullback during his productive seasons wiA the Rams. Tim Lester, could be Ae Steelers starter A is season. ...

The Steelers play Aree Monday night games Ais season, including two on Ae road against Miami and Kansas City. The oAer is at home against Buffalo. The good news is Ae team plays Aree of the first four regular-season games at home, which should come in handy as Aey break in a new quarterback for de­ parted Ned O’Donnell.

Greener pastures: The team will go on wiAout outside linebacker Kevin Greene, who ued for Ae NFL lead in sacks and was named .All-Pro just two seasons ago. Greene, an unrestricted free agent, signed w iA Carolina, where for­ mer defensive coordinator Dom Capers is Ae head coach.

— Gbw y DULAC

NBY ENGLAND PATRIOTS

OAKLAND RAIDERS

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

Ffw -oywt coach: At coach B ill Parcefls’ request, A e team and A e coach agreed to have A s contract shortened by a year, meaning A e upcoming season will be his last under Ae current deal. However, owner Robert Kraft says that doesn’t mean Parcefls will definitely be gone after A e season. “We agreed that, at A e end of this season, if Aere were a mutual feeling that he should coach A e Patriots beyond Ae 1996 season, he would have Aat opportunity,’ Kraft says. Parcefls didnt comment on A e short­ ened contract but A e strain and disappoint­ ment of A e 6-101995 season was dearly a fac­ tor. He also has said in A e past that th e gen­ eration gap (between him and A e players) sometimes seems like a chasm." There has been speculation Parcefls cut Ae contract so he could take over anoAer team (A e Jets?).

But he has said repeatedly in A e past Ae Pa­ triots would be A s last coaching job. If he leaves, a more likely scenario would have him returning to broadcasting.

BelIchick lo lioe? AlAough former Browns head coach Bill BellcA ck is Ae assistant head coach, dub officials have said no promises were made A at would make him an automat­ ic successor if Parcefls were to leave.... Kraft has petitioned A e league for an extra choice in Ae 1997 draft to compensate A e team for losing its fifth-round pick when it cut Christ­ ian Peter. His argument is Aat N FL security felled to provide the Patriots wfth adequate in­ formation about Peter’s legal problems before Ae draft.

— KEYW MAUK

C asto ck trail: Quarter­ back Je ff Hostetler is making progress in As recovery from arthro­ scopic surgery on As left shoulder. Hostetler, who needed A e surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. threw passes last week when several veterans gaAered at Ae practice facility for what coach Mike White calls "monitoring sessions." But A e real test will not come until he absorbs Ae kind of ferocious Ats that forced Am to miss most of A e last six games of A e 1995 season.

T ie looks better than he did at the start of last season," W A te says. T think he’s in better physical shape. He’s had to work at it A the process of working on A s shoulder, he's worked As butt off running and doing oAer things."

U M to d a y The team, unwilling to give freeagent left tackle Gerald Perry the long-term contract he wants, is shifting gears. W Ate says he might go w iA Robert Jenkins. Ae starter much of last season when Perry was injured. Tm not saying we’ve closed A e book on looking for someone," W Ate says. “Maybe we’re not quite where we want to be, but w ell be O K."... The team signed rookie free agent Alfred Montez (Western New Mexico) to compete for A e No. 3 quarterback job.... One oddity to emerge from Ae offseason maneu­ vering is Ae team has four of Ae top 11 choic­ es in Ae 1991 draft— defensive tackle Russell Maryland (No. I, Cowboys), cornerback Bruce Pickens (No. 3, Falcons) and linemen Charles McRae (No. 7, Bucs) and Pat Harlow (No. ii. Patriots).

— R ob Kjtockcx

J t o y Oh! Coach Bobby Ross is upbeat about wide receiver Jimmy Oliver after watching him at a recent mini­ camp. Oliver, a secondyear man. repeatedly made big plays, some­ thing A e 1995 team desperately lacked. Join­

NEW YORK JETS

PITTSBl ROH STEELERS

Hess speaks: Owner Leon Hess, who doled out more Aan $60 mil­ lion in free-agent con­ tracts, called A is “the only exddng offseason we’ve had in years." In a rare interview, A e 82year-old oilman said all A e pieces are in place for a successful season. “So much has been done during A e offseason," he said.

T h e organization is functioning beautifully, and now its up to A e team to Anodon in a

Betting sa Bettis: The team wants to rework Ae contract of running back Jerome Bettis, obtained in A e draft-day trade wiA Ae Rams. Bettis has two years remaining on As contract but Ae final year is voidable if BeAs rushes for more Aan 1200 yards A is season. That means he could become a free agent and sign w iA anoAer team after A e 1996 season. Tom Donahoe, Ae team’s director of football operations, would

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ing the praise were quarterback Stan Humphries, who could have used Ae speedy Oliver last season when he was sidelined by a pn-season shoulder injury Oliver spent the year learning the team's offense and waiting for anoAer opportunity. He should get plen­ ty m 1996. Tony Martin, who caught a teamrecord 90 passee last season, is Ae only sure bet among Humphries' targets. The Charg­ ers lost 171 receptions from players who were not re-signed. ____________________ Others expected to battle for passcatching jobs are .Andre Coleman.

O.Mar Ellison and Brandon Harrison. ... The reviews on rookie wide re­ ceivers Bryan Still and Charlie Jones were mixed. Jones flashed some po­ tential. but Still was Oliver hampered by a strained hamstring and did liAe. Hot Rod: If Ae team had know^free safety Rodney Harrison would improve'^5-much. it might not have signed Kevin Ross (two years. $1.8 million) to replace Bo Orlando. Harrison was among Ae minicamp's biggest defensive stars. He always has been a ballhawk—he had a team-high five interceptions A 1995 despite missing five games wiA a knee injury. But he often didn't play w iA poise, something he showed in minicamp. ... The Cardinals will scrimmage Ae Chargers on August 17 at San Diego's training camp.

— JAY PARB

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42 • AFC/NFC

The Sporting News

SEATTLE SE.AHAWKS

ATLANTA FALCONS

Keeping the faith: The coaching staff is showinc faith in wide receiv­ er Brian Blades, who pleaded no contest to m anslauphier with a firearm Although B lades' ie.cal tate is in tin- hands oi Broward County (Fla » Judpe Misan Lt'bow. the Ss'ahawks believe he will jjet probation and be able to pla\' this season > entencinp is scheduled for Ma)The team rejected a chance ta slpn wide receiver Shawn Jefferson because it is counting on Blades to re tu rn . Last m onth, he signed a three-year. $4.5 million contract that will pay him $1.25 million this year. although the team is oft the hook if he doesn't play. The maximum sentence for m anslauphter with a firearm in Florida is 3 0 'y ears But with no prior convictions. B lades' attorney. Bruce Zimet, says he m ipht receive probation.

“T h e re is precedent for probation on a m an slau p h ter ch arg e." he says. The Seahaw ks still are looking to sign a backup re­ ceiver but will await the sentencing to d e te r­ m ine if they need to replace Blades.

Rambllng Nash; Because the>- acquired defen­ sive tackle Glenn M ontgomery, the Seahawks haven't decided if the)' will bring back defen­ sive tackle Joe Nash. Until the Seahaw-ks let him know. Nash will shop for a new- team. The Oilers are a possibilit>-... The Seahawks liked what they saw of their reconfigured offensive line with rookie Pele Kendall al left guard.

Kevin Mawae at center a n d Derrick Graham at right guard. Center Jim Sweeney accepted being a backup when be learned the learn wanted him back.

— JOHI C u f n il

Background music: The team failed to achieve its goal of getting q u arte r­ back Jeff George signed before spring "concen­ tration' workouts, but of­ ficials have been produc­ tive on other fronts. Slot receiver Terance M athis signed a four-year. $6 million contract, assuring that every ke>' of­ fensive pla> er other than George will return.

Receiver J.J Birden. who has been asked to . lake a pay cut. is participating in workouts while completing a re n e g o tia te deal. Depth was added to the offensive line with the ac­ quisition of 317-pound Matt Wiliig from the je ts for a conditional seventh-round draft choice and talks w-ere underw ay for the ac­ quisition of unrestricted Eagles guard/tackle -Antone Davis. That could make Lincoln Kennedv. who has been unable to win a start* mg job. expendable. On the defensive side, the team has signed linebacker David Bran: don and is talking contract with such free' agent linebackers as J am es ‘\AlIliams and Tra, O' Havworlh.

Money m s t t m Talks continue with two other < key players: backup quarterback Bobby . H ebert and starting defensive tackle Moe G ardner. I ts unlikely H ebert will be signed ; until the George situation is resolved.... Team : president Taylor Smith has given G eorge's agent, Leigh Steinberg, permission lo explore trade possibilities, bul that should be viewed only as posturing by the team . Not signing George would be akin to throwing in the towi el for 1996. H eberu w-hile one of the league's I m ore capable backups, will be 36 in August and has had arm trouble.

— Twct Fabrdo

.‘VRIZONA CARDINALS

CAROLINA RANTHERS

CHICAGO BE.ARS

I)ALLAS.C(h\BOYS

Greene m eaus go: T he team boosted its p ass ru sh by signing free agent outside line­ backer Kevin G reene. “I think everybody and their brother know what I do best in this league, and th a t's ham m er q u arterb ack s." G reene says. “I'm also hard as a freakin’ diam ond at the point of attack." G reene is reunited with coach Dom Capers, who coached G reene as the S teelers' defensive coordinator in 1993 and ‘94. G reene had perhaps his best season in *94. leading the league with 14 sacks. H ell be 34 in July, but team officials say he has two good years rem aining. G reene says he has every intention of starting, which m eans intense com petition in training cam p. T he team will have four solid outside linebackers in (ireen e . D uane B irken and last y ear's starters. U m a r U lh o n and Darien Conner. .Although C onner is a free agent and ha.sn'i re-signed yet. the team has th e right to match any offers and expects him to return.

C apers says he w anted four outside line­ backers to create a com petitive environm ent and give the coaches m ore fiexibilitv in their gam e plans Target practice: Tight end Wesley Walls v^as the star of the team 's threeKiay minicamp for r(Mikies and sek v led veterans Walls caught virtually evtTy pass thrown to him and looked quick in his routes. He figures to be a favorite target of quarterback K erry Collins. ... Run­ ning back Tim Biakabuiuka worked out spar­ ingly in the last two days of the minicarr.p lo rest a slight groin pull — CHARLES ChAMOUR

Body c o a c t M inicamp look its toll. Rashaan Salaam (1.075 yards) suf­ fered a freakish thum b fracture during a shuttle run when he slipped, put his hand down to catch him self and separated a thum b ligament that puDed a piece of bone off with it. T he nick landed him in outpatient surgery and in a soft cast for 4-6 weeks but is not ex"pected to cause any lingering damage.

Defensive tackle Jim Flanigan ( l l sacks) sus­ tained a deep thigh bruise in a no-pads insiderun drill and was on crutches for several days.

Top draft choice Walt H arris also ended his first pro weekend on crutches, spraining his foot severely enough to be sent for X-rays and a precautionary cast.

No quarter given: A less-than-auspidous mini­ camp and coaches' school for Steve Stenstrom mav have confirm ed the need for a veteran backup behind Erik K ram er Stenstrom threw som e interceptions and was generally inaccu­ rate in his first real turn running the offense after nothing bul scoui-team work as a rook­ ie. The final test will be a voluntary q u arter­ backs camp in early June. A vet signing before that is unlikely because coaches want lo give Stenstrom arid No. 3 Shane M atthews as many reps as possible, lf Stenstrom convinces coaches he can be .No. 2. M atthews' chances of staving as No. 3 improve. But if Stenstrom struggles to the point w here the Bears feel the need for a better backup for Kramer.

M atthews would likeK drop to No. 4 and be­ come a long shot to beat out Stenstrom for a roster spot.

— JOHH MlHLm

R m r s a declsiim: T here w ere grow ing concerns about D arren Benson, the team 's third-round pick in last sum m er's s u p p le m e n ta l d ra ft, when the 21-year-old de­ fensive tackle, who lives right across the street from the Cowboys prac­ tice facilitv'. was not participating in the offsea­ son workout program . Coach B arry Switzer feared Benson was giving up on football say­ ing the form er Trinit>' Valley (Tex.) Communitv’ CoDege player had indicated his heart was not into plaving. But Switzer says Benson wiU begin his individuaJ workouts, and expects him to attend the next quarterback school starting June 3. .And since Benson will cost the Cow­ boys at least S65.000 against the cap this sea­ son (they had signed him to a four-year deal that included a S266.000 signing bonus), ex­ pect them lo be patient Repair shop; Tight end Jay Novacek. bothered bv* lower-back pain, traveled to Los .Angeles to visit back specialist Dr. Robert Watkins after an MR] indicated disk problems. Dr. Watkins operated on Novacek in 1989 for a bulging disk, lf surgery is necessary. Novacek could still be ready to start the season. ... Backup running back Sherm an \511iiams had his left knee scoped to remove a lorn lateral m enis­ cus. He is expected back for the quarterback school in June. ... C enter Ray Donaldson. while rehabbing his dislocated and broken right ankle, also had his left elbow scoped to remove "loose bodies." Despite the additional surger)'. Donaldson is shooting to be ready for the season opener —FICKEY SPADOLA

P e rfe ct attendance: , Eyer)' player on the roster. including some involved in delicate con­ tract negotiations, paricipated in the team 's three-day minicamp.

Even defensive tackle Eric Swann, w hose agent said w-ouldn'l be happy if he returned, show ed up and partic­ ipated fully in w orkouts. The team still wants lo sign Swann lo a long-ienrt deal but doesn't f-h^ve the m oney to m atch offers m ade by D enver and Tam pa Bay during predraft trade talks. Both would have paid Swann $21.3 million over five years, including a $7.5 million signing bonus O utside linebacker N*th Joyner and defensive end Clyde Sim ­ mons. who have been asked to lake pay cuts. also attended. Sim m ons say< he i> willing to re stru c tu re his contract and doesn't rule out taking a cut Joyner^ha^ not com m ented (»n hi'^ siuialion T here has bf^eri little progresv with running back (iarriM in H earsi. who likeh will play tor the one->ear len d er of '^2 million Resurrected: Boomer KsiaMni admittedly had tew oplirm" Jttf.’' he leg the Ji'Is W hen he vaw coordinator Jim Fas-^el'^ playb(»ok. h<knew h<' wantt‘d U* be in .-Vn/ona "It’'^ nice lo have a dt-iailed playbook lor a change." h<’ vay^ The battle to back up Hearsi should be in terestin g C(»ache'* have been imiin-'-M-d with D-Shon Johnson diinng informai workout.s. and S o 2 pick O rla n d McH)n»y Is expected lo contend. L irry C enters ;j(so can play there. . The team re-signed ollensive linem an jo e ^Col^ — Kent Somers

#

r

Bad to the bons; Saiaam ’s m inicam p in ^ r y ta the bone and ligam ent rn a thumb required surgery. He'll wear a soft castfo r s e v e ^ weeks but should have no lingering effects

I

I

NFO *43

May 13,1996

DETROIT LIONS

MINNESOTA VIKINGS

Point of no return: Bren Foge unfazed: For the r ^ ^ Perriman’s days in Defirst time in five years, \ troit might be numbered. the team held minicamp His recent demand to be Q without Tony Dungy to traded, his absence from design the defense. the last two minicamps Dungy's long-awaited and his impending free promotion to a headagency almost force coaching job has left coach Wayne Fontes to release him. The team longtime assistant Foge Fazio on the hot already has committed to replacing Perriman seat. The offense scored the fourth-most with Glyn Milburn, who signed a three-year. points in the N FL last season, but the de­ S3 million deal Fontes and Perriman. 30. both fense allowed the fourth-most Tackle John know he is unlikely to duplicate his 108<atch Randle is the only starter left from Dungy’s 1995 season what with the presence of Barry I top-ranked 1993 defense. Fazio is popular Sanders. Herman Moore, Milburn and sec­ with his players but knows it will be hard to ond-year tight end David Sloan. Fontes might have the kind of rapport Dungy enjoyed. He be well advised to grant Perriman’s request won’t change the scheme much. just the per­ for a trade or his wish to be released, then sonnel. .Among his new starters will be three rookies— linebacker/end Duane Clemons? take the nearly Si million saving in salary and spread it between safety Bennie Blades and a nose tackle James Manley, safety Sean quality backup tight end.

Boyd— and free-agent linebacker Dixon Ed­ Down to ow: Sloan is the only healthy tight wards. Fazio expects more out of ends Fer­ end on the roster. Veterans Ron Hail and Rod­ nando Smith and Derrick Alexander. Among ney Holman were released in the offseason. other concerns are undersized linebackers and second-year backup Kevin Hickman, who Dixon. Jeff Brady and Ed McDaniel and a is coming off right knee surgery, suffered an secondary that was third-worst against the injury to his left knee during minicamp. Hick­ pass last season.

Palmer band: Wide receiver David Palmer has man should recover in time for training camp, but he has become an obvious health concern. quietly been working hard an4 coaches are ... Team coaches were impressed with the looking for a breakthrough season. He could speed and coverage ability of first-round weak- become an Eric Metcalf-like threat and ease side linebacker Reggie Brown. But those the pressure on Chs Carter.... Quarterback same coaches were not so thrilled with the Warren Moon is considering playing two coverage ability of Antonio London, who is ex­ more seasons, even though he will be 40 in pected to start on the strongside. London, a November. ... Lndrafted rookie Matt Reem converted pass-rushing defensive end. proba­ has a chance of supplanting Greg DeLong as bly will move to left defensive end in obvious the third tight end behind Andrew^ ordan and passing situations.

— TOM KOWALSKI rookie Hunter Goodwin.

— W IT Brown

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

NEW YORK GIANTS

Backfield In motion: One week after coach Jim Mora expressed con­ cern about the club's tailback situation, former Pro Bowl back Lorenzo White w'as giv­ en a trvout. A nine-vear veteran. White participated in the final two practices of a three-day rookie minicamp. The sides are close to an agreement, according to White's agent White’s contract likely will be incentive-laden with a base salary of no more than the $275,000 minimum for players with five years of experience. "If he wants what he got paid last year ($517,400 from the Browns), then we wouldn't be able to do it." general manager Bill Kuharich says. The Saints are $2.7 million under the salary cap without White. Much of the money is re­ served for the team's IO draft picks. Before White entered the picture, the club had planned to sign free-agent tight end Keith Jackson or Johnny Mitchell.

Bell ccw wanted: .After failing to trade up in the first round to draft Tim Biakabutuka. Mora ex­ pressed concern about his tailbacks. Mario Bates and Ray Zellars are atop the depth chart “Running back worries me the most (of­ fensively) because Mario hasn't done it to the degree that we would like to see him do it."

Mora say's. “Ray is a young guy that really has­ n’t shown that he can be a consistent, weekin-and-week-out productive running back."

The Saints thought they had a swap of No. I picks with New England, but the Patriots backed out at the last minute, leaving Biak­ abutuka for the Panthers.

— MIKE STROM

Home ran threat: No re­ ceiver for the team has made the Pro BowTsince Homer Jones did it 1963. but the team is hoping .Amani Toomer. this year's second-round pick, can break the string. Coaches like his combination of size tt> 3.195). speed (4.4 in the 40) and blocking abil­ ity. Toomer's statistics at Michigan tailed off in his senior season, but he blames that on* quarterback injunes. He will probably start camp behind Thomas Lewis (the team's top pick in 1994) but could jump ahead of him with a strong showing. The team finished last in the league in passing of tease last season....

Receiver Mike Sherrard, a three-year Giants starter who caught 44 passes for 577 yards last season, agreed to terms with the Broncos on a four-year contract. He joins offensive tackle Jumbo Elliott (Jets) and linebacker Michael Brooks (Lions) as big-name tree agents who have left. Elliott was the only one the team -seriously considered retaining ... The last of the team's prominent unrestricted free agents, quarterback Dave Brown, signed a !our-year_ $13 million contract. The agreement solidifies Brown as the starter for the foreseeable fu­ ture. He did not entertain offers from other teams.

Eye check: Defensive end Cedric Jones, the team's first-round pick, missed a workout on the first day of rookie minicamp to see an eye specialist. He underwent a cornea transplant in December But the team does not expect the condition to affect his play. Jones will wear a shield over his face mask — KEIL BEST

#

•

•

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

GREEN HAY PACKERS Secoiui thcmghts: One of the highlights of the team’s post-draft mini­ camp was the perfor­ mance of wide receiver Derrick Mayes, a sec­ ond-round pick who ran an impressive 4.43-sec­ ond 40-yard dash and made several difficult catches. “He could be very good in this sys­ tem." general manager Ron Wolf says. A key in Mayes’ development is how quickly he picks up the complicated offense. Neither Robert Brooks nor .Antonio Freeman made big contributions as a rookie, in part because it took them time to understand what each play was designed to do. Mayes is a higher pick and will have the benefit of learning from Brooks, Freeman and .Anthony Morgan. "The things he can do after the catch offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis says. “W ell find a way to get the ball to him."

Back to back: Coach Mike Holmgren would like to lessen the load of running back Edgar Bennett, who gained 1.000 yards last year but might have been more effective if he were healthy throughout the season. Speedy sec­ ond-year man Travis Jervey and fourth-round pick Chris Darkins could earn more snaps....

A defensive tackle last season. Gabe Wilkins will be used strictly at end Wilkins wants to drop his weight to 290 so he can add some quickness, litimateiy. he will step in at right end after Sean Jones retires. ... Guard Adam Timmerman, w'ho is slated to play on the right side, saw some time at left guard. The team expects .Aaron Taylor to play there but can't predict if Taylor's surgically repaired knee wilj be ready for the reason. — TOM SILVERSTEIN

•

Holmes almost ready: Right guard Lester ’ Holmes, who still is re­ covering from a torn lig­ ament in his right knee. was held out of the team s post-draft mini­ camp But coach Ray Rhodes is confident Holmes wi|] be ready I when the club opens training camp July 17 “Lester will be ready to go full speed in July."

Rhodes savs. “I don't have anv concerns with him." Holmes, who was the club's starting right tackle last season before injuring his knee in Week 2. will be moved inside to make room for ex-Saint Richard Cooper .. T h * team still is in the market for a starting mid­ dle linebacker At the moment, that job be­ longs to special-teamer Jame> Willis "There's possibly guys with huge, huge contract' who are going to either get cut nr move, and weTi be right there lo pick up the garbage."

Rhodes says Former Eagles middle line­ backer Byron Evan- doesn t et:: to be a possibility Weighty issue: Eagle- dele r>;v« •ad \l,k« Ma*

•

•

muhi snowed, up at Cue Crabs mmicamp weighing J .To. which about '.J pounds heav­ ier ’ban lh* «rid oj las; sea s. a: Bui Rhode-* s.ivs p.,- d-d m .U fW ru c l Mamma, the club ^ No p ig ? ro bulk up “ Hr- wright > fine." he s.i\s jV o u start Irving rn bulk up a guy like that, tfieii v«aj take aw av wha! got him

here

Bye, bye Brett? Perriman. after gaining I 488 receiving yards with Detroit last season, may hair a neu- address in *96 because of new Lion Glvn Milburn

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p e e s hj-v top three drat! picks rn start next season. ostensive hhema/i Jerm ane MayberrC* wa* the o ily one fisted a 'ta rte r on the mimcanq^depth chart M avberrv was listed No ; in Jen guard.

— P aul Oo m o w h c h

*

4 4 - NFC

The Sporting News

Backfield competition: T he club is planning nine changes in the starting lineup. That in­ cludes Johnny Johnson replacing D erek Loviile at running back. .Although Seifert isn’t ready to com mie he acknowledges that John­ son won't be getting Si million to sit on the b en ch .... Several players did not participate in the minicamp last weekend, but the 49ers ex­ pect everyone except fullback William Floyd to be ready at the start of training camp.

Floyd, rehabbing after multiple surgeries on his right knee, is projected to return at mid­ season.

— Ira M a l a

TAMPA BAY Bl ‘(.'CANKERS

V-vTi t*

Ghrtng no q u a rte r Shuler, left. is hurt by questions regarding his status as the Redskins' starting quarterback. Despite higher numbers, Frerotte knows he will remain behind a healthy Heath.

ST. LOVIS RAMS Back to fallback: The team 's use of an H-back. a fullback/tight end hy­ brid. wasn't a sm ashing success last season with M arv Cook and Jim Price. Cook and Price. are pass-catching tight ends bv trade. It is doubtful either will be back as the team opts tor a m ore traditional leadblocking fullback. To that end. the team in­ vested two draft picks in fullbacks— Ernie "Conweli of W ashington in the second round and Derrick Harris of Miami in the sixth. Both are heavier and stockier than their predeces­ sors Cornbell is o-l. 253, H am s. 6-0.253. Conwell played tight end in college, but the Rams think his skills are perfectly suited to be a D an ) Johnston-type fullback—that is. a block­ er first, a receiver second and a ballcarrier third. Connell or H am s will start next season, attem pting to clear a path for running back law rence Phillips Missing in action: Phillips and wide receiver Eddie Kenmson. the Rams' two first-round draft picks, overslept and missed the third and final day of the rookie portion of a weeklong minicamp Because neither is under contract. no fines could be assessed. Coach Rich ‘Brooks privately was livid, particularly at Phillips who is supposed to be on his best bt^

PRIMES* IIT p re se n ts

Baseball Free Agents

1

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3 4 5

6 7 6

havior while serving a one-vear probation for m isdem eanor assault of a former girlfriend....

Even though the minicamp was "voluntary,'' cornerback Todd Lyght was the only signed veteran not to participate. The team recentlym atched a four-year. SIO.7 million offer to Lyght from Jacksonville.

— Jill THOMAS

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS Coming together Intro­ ductions were in order at the team 's minicamp.

With the signing of sev­ en veteran free agents, the 49ers believe suc­ cess will depend largely on how quickly the new­ com ers m esh. Two years ago, the team went through a similar transition and got off to a slow start. Opening with five division gam es this season, coach George Seifert believes he must speed up the process. In 1994. Seifert says, the returning players and new players took time to adjust to each other. This season. he says, it's im portant to meet in the middle much sooner. As an example, new defensive ends Chris Doleman and Roy Barker are used to playing every down in the same s p o t The 49ers like to rotate'their defensive linemen to keep them fresh, and switch them left to right Seifert wants to work these things out before the season.

Krajnz I Graham Mika Lechappalto M c baal La a— Mareaf Panton Oanam y I Ktoa Dong Misact John Manna Bruce Ba rte Kurt Hirshman

Players who can be claim ed a fte r 2 PM on Mon..

May 13th, and before 11 PM on Sun.. May 19th, 9 and be on your team for gam es beginning M on.. 10 B a r i d S a p p e r May 20th.

V O IO C 1 IB 130 2B 232 3B 317 SS 419 .^ F 502 OF 616 SP 846 SP 958 RP1108

PLATER; TEAM ' SALARY Mike Piazza. Los A ngeles S I .ASO.OOO David Hollins. M innesota $460,000 Keith Lockhart. K ansas City $380,000 Jim Thome. Cleveland $810,000 Jo s e V alentin. M ilw aukee $580,000 Barry Bonds. San F r a n c is c o ^ .2 6 0 .OOO Henry Rodriguez. M ontreat $310,000 Ju an Guzman. Toronto $820,000 Mike G race. P hiladelphia $340,000 R oberto Hernandez. CWS $2,030,000

Wilting g n u : W ith the expected slow pace of negotiations with this year's rookie crop, ru n ­ ning back E rrict Rhett's renegotiation is being put on hold. General m anager Rich McKay doesn’t plan on addressing R hett's situation until he gets around to signing the team ’s nine picks. "Based on the discussions w e’ve had. we can get som ething done," McKay says.

"It's a little m ore in (Rhett's) court than mine.*' ... Wide receiver Courtney Hawkins re-signed for one year at about $750,000. The decision to re-sign Hawkins was m ade after a draft de­

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Backlogged: Rhett’s contract talks are on hold while the Buccaneers sign their draft choices.

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cision to trade a second-round pick to San Diego for a first-rounder in 1997. Before the trade, the team had been considering Penn State wideout Bobby Engram in the second round. T ennessee's M io Silvan was selected in the sixth round, but he is projected more as a kick retu rn er than receiver.

Minicamp review: Coach Tony Dungy gave his post-draft minicamp good reviews and said he was happy with the free-agency and draft up­ grades on the offensive and defensive lines, in the offensive backfield and in the secondary. ... The team has pulled back on the tree-agent front but still has interest in re-signing nickel back Tony S targell.... One of the m ore spirit­ ed training-camp battles will be waged at right offensive tackle, w here incum bent Scott Dill will be challenged by free-agent signee Scott Adams and fourth-round pick Jason Odom. If Adams or Odom wins the job. Dill could be shifted to left guard.

Ibex POGUES

WASHINGTON REDSKINS Betrayal? H eath Shuler says the starting quar­ terback’s job should have been automatically his heading into mini­ camp. ‘"Iou alm ost feel betrayed that just be­ cause of an injury, you’re not the starter." he says. T h e y said I was the sta rte r at the end of the season, but then a couple of w eeks before the draft, they say w e're com peting for the job again." Shuler, who has been h u rt three tim es, never has passed for m ore than 286 yards o r thrown three touchdow n passes. Gus F rerotte has started 15 gam es to Shuler's 13 and has pro­ duced a 345-yard gam e and twice has thrown th ree touchdown passes. However. Frerotte knows its not a truly even battle. “If its semiequal. it’s his job." he says. W hoever plays, the Redskins will face a financial decision next winter. IF they want to keep Shuler from be­ com ing a restricted free agent, they have to tear up his original contract and give him $9.2 million for 1997 and 1998. alm ost twice as much as he w-as slated to make.

Minicamp opens: .All but three signed players w ere at minicamp. Offensive tackle Jim Lachey is recuperating from rotator cuff surgery, which might force his retirement. Re­ serve outside linebacker M att Vanderbeek isn’t recovered from arthroscopic shoulder surgery, and nickel back M uhammad Oliver is still rehabilitating his right knee. Snapper Trevor Matich and g u a rd /c e n te r Vernice Smith participated in minicamp without con­ tracts.

— D avid E m u

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NHL *4 5

May 13.1996

Mission possible A viable mixture of fire and ice, veteran goaltender Ron Hextall is pointing the Flyers toward that elusive Stanley Cup

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B y L arry W ig g e ’ hen Ron Hextall talks about his hatred for lo s­ ing, the flashbacks com e fast and furious— playoff confrontations with Kent N ilsson and Chris C helios. sticks breaking on a goalpost or opponent HextaU's e y e s still fill with fire, even w hen h e is just talking about winning and losin g in the playoffs.

“Iv e changed." h e insists. “Really. I can walk away from a gam e better now than I used to."

Diane Hextall chuckles during an ESPN' com m ercial w hen sh e is asked to talk about her husband and his weird behavior on ice.

“No. Ronnie isn ’t a whacko. No. h e isn’t a psycho." sh e says in a whimsical attempt to defend the Fly­ ers' infam ous stick-sw inging, everaggressive goaltender.

“No. he isn ’t a nutcase, either." sh e adds, trying to ch ok e back a laugh.

Hextall laughs w hen he is re­ m inded of the com m ercial, but he also b eg s forgiveness for previous sins. S eein g that a group of re­ porters is not convinced of his new­ found sanity, he tells a story to un­ derscore his point.

“My son Brett com es hom e from a h ock ey gam e recently." Hextall lcecapades: The fiery Hextall heats up the ice with his saving grace and win-at-all<osts competitiveness. says. ‘T h e y lost, and h e ’s all upset. I say. ‘Brett, what d oes it m a tte r ?'"

I Tampa Bay’s Daren Puppa and W ashington's ing the Cup since. That’s why no other kind T he irony is that Hextall has often been ac­ ! 'Jim Carey. of trophy is important to him now. cu sed of acting like an 8-year-old. just like j T h a t s not important." he says. "Winning Hextall compiled an im pressive 2.10 aver­ in the playoffs is what this is all about— nothage in a first-round playoff victory over Tam­ Bren. The idea is not lost on the veteran goal­ pa Bay and his Game 2 second-round perfor­ tender. But this is his son. He's supposed to j ing else.

T h e r e are great players in this league who m ance against Florida helped the Flyers gain be a role m odel... and he insists h e’s crying to ; have com e close to winning a Stanley Cup an important l-l series tie. be just th at In a recent Sports Illustrated story, several “T hat’s why Iv e changed." Hextall says. I early in their careers and have never made it unnamed general m anagers were quoted as “W hat would you say to your son after he's I back to that goal. I d on ’t want to be one of I those players." saying they would have to count into the teens heard ail of those stories about his dad?

Boston defensem an Ray Bourque has nevbefore considering Hextall am ong the goal­ "I don’t want him to think I’m a saint or per­ tenders worthy for the Vezina. Som e of that fect or som ething, because I’m n o t But I also i er played for a Cup-winning team. Neither can be attributed to anger over som ething don't want to add to that reputation, if you ; has Toronto's Mike Gartner. Detroit’s Steve ; Yzerman and Philadelphia's Dale Hawerchuk Hextall might have done to one of their players know what I mean." over the years. Some can be attributed to the The reputation gaining acceptance is that . are future Hall of Famers who do not have a Stanley Cup ring. belief Hextall was finished after he compiled a Hextall is getting better with age. But despite Nine years ago. Hextall enjoyed a rookie 2-7 com bined record in the 1993 and '94 play­ a league-leading 2.17 goals-against average in season m o st goaltenders envision in their offs. including an 0*3 mark and b.OS goal^ the regular season . Hextall was not one of against average in '94 tor the Islanders. three nom inees for the Vezina Trophy, which ■ w ildest dream s. He took the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals and won the Vezina Tro­ "I'm not surprised at that." Flyers coach is awarded annually to the league's best goal­ Terry Murray says. "The longer a playerv phy and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the play­ tender. around in any sport and hasn't actually off M ost Valuable Plaver. But the Fivers Hextall sh ru g s off the disappointm ent of iost— and Hextall hasn't com e close to rais­ reached the ultimate goai. thereV going to bv being beaten out by Detroit's Chris O sgood.

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more of a m icroscope on them. They will al­ ways be analyzed and criticized."

Ai the trade deadline last season, it was suggested to Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke that he had put together a team that could win a Stanley Cup— except for one thing, goalteoding.

"You don't understand the position.”

Clarke said. T h e goaltender'' with the best form don't always win in the play­ offs. In fact. I'll let you pick any goalie you chink m ight be avail­ able— John Vanbiesbrouck. Bill Ran ford, w hoever— and 111 take H exxy because he's one of the greatest com petitors ever to play this game.

T h e playoffs are such a grind, that's why you need a competitor in goal."

Hextall went on to win IO gam es in the playoffs— many of them al­ most singlehandedly. .After that per­ formance. few questioned his cre­ dentials to take the Flyers all the wav.

Rangers center Mark M essier. who played for the Cup-winning O ilers in 1987 when Hextall took the Flyers to the finals, shakes his head and criticizes anyone ques­ tioning Hextall's abilities. "I don't know w here you are getting your information.” M essier savs. "Hexxv is still as com petitive as ’n e was when he was a rookie. You still have to work twice as hard to score against him as you do against a lot of the other goaltenders."

Yes. Hextall still is com petitive.

He is fiery. He can be controversial.

But he also remains the most active goaltender in the N H L often han­ dling the puck behind the net like a third defensem an and adding luster to the Flyers' transition game.

D evils coach Jacques Lemaire watched hours of Flyers tape be­ fore his team faced Hextall in the con feren ce finals last year He talked about Hextall's habit of m ov­ ing the puck up the left-wing boards 90 percent of the time and q u es­ tioned his ability to go from side to side to make saves.

"We talked about all of that." says f. Claude Lem ieux. who went from I New Jersey to Colorado this season but rem em bers Lemaire talking a lot about Hextall's tendencies.

"That was more mind gam es by the coach than an yth in g else, trying to g e t Hexxy off his gam e. Believe me. that wasn't a factor in us beating the Flyers."

Hextall m issed practice last Friday, but not to celebrate his 32nd birthday. He felt a twinge in his back and wanted to have it ch ecked. That's onlv natural for a veteran goaltender on a m ission. He d o esn ’t want to hurt his team by letting in a soft goal— and he didn’t a night later in a 3-2 victory over the Panthers.

D espite what som e people think, this is a different Ron Hextall. He uses his experience to be in better position now .And he u ses his head better, too.

"Sure I still get upset w hen we lo^e." he Nays. 'B ut I don't let yesterday -; loss affect me for tom orrow's gam e That wouldn't bv fair to mv teammates."

And that wouldn't fit hi< statu> as a role m odel, either. Just ask Brett Hextall ♦ #

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L a r r y W igge h as co vered hockey fo r Th;- Sr* iRTIMi N k w - since 1 9 6 9

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46 • NHL

The Sporting News

NHL REPORT

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Larry WIGGE robably ihe only thing Rangers gen­ eral m anager Neil Smith adm its he learned from Mike Keenan when the team won the Stanley Cup in 1994 is how important one or two players can be in the playoffs.

General m anagers recognize the trend, in which players who have been obtained in the offseason or just before the trade deadline make key plays at crucial tim es in the play­ offs.

“You look at every team still left in the play­ offs and see one. two or three players who can lift their team to victory." says Smith, knowing his team has the unenviable task of stopping the Penguins’ Mario Lemieux.

Jarom ir J agr. Ron Francis. Petr Nedved ...

"This is the time of the year when you want your big guys to be at their best and their big guys to be stopped." .Vier going without a goal in their first four playoff gam es. Lemieux and J agr combined for eight in their next four games. They led the Penguins to a first-round trium ph over the Capitals and a Game I victory over the Rangers in which Jagr passed to Lemieux for

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Send no roses Blues coach Mike Keenan m arvels at the talent o f Red W ings center Sergei Fe­ dorov. He can't give Fedorov a ticket to the Hall of Fame. however, for the way he tries to draw penalties by diving and then laving on the ice af­ ter being hooked or tripped It happened again in Game I of the team s' sec­ ond-round m atchup. W ith­ out missing a shift. Fedorov was back on the ice and scored the winning goal "He always seem s to com e back for the next shift.” Keenan says, “ just af­ ter funeral arrangem ents have been completed."

icy bits Jerem y Roenick will be back with the B la ck h aw k next season, even though he will be the most im pressive free agent in the NHL this su m m e r He is m aking SLI million but should get a bid from an o th er team for 53

million or m ore per season. not exactly come down hard No problem, says Black­ on genera] m anager Pat h a w k owner Bill W irtz. “Je­ Quinn for his indecisiveness rem y is an integral part of in waiting until six gam es this franchise." W irtz says. remained to fire coach Rick Ley. Quinn has been given “.And we intend to keep it like that for a long tim e ."... the go-ahead to return to Don't look for the B lackhaw k to keep vet­ erans Bernie Nicholls or Joe M urphy, howev­ er. Nicholls w-ants to fin­ ish his career in south­ ern California and is ru­ mored headed to .Ana­ heim M urphy was in coach Craig H arts­ b u rg ^ doghouse all sea­ son and will take the highest offer in free agency. ... Bruins gen­ eral manager H arry Sinden says he thinks .AllStar right wing Cam Checkmate: The Blackhawks will Neely will not return not let Roenick get away next season. Doctors have told Neely he will eventually have to have hip coaching or to hire a new surgery, thereby ending his coach for next season. Cana­ career. dian Olympic team coach Canucks m anagement did Tom Renney’s nam e keeps

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the winning goal.

Similar dom inance was evident for the Rangers in their series against the Canadk ens. with M ark M essier. Adam Graves and Mike Richter leading the team from a 2-0 deficit to four consecutive victories.

“T h ey talk about unexpected heroes in the World Series and Super Bowl. and i t s true in hockey, too." Flyers coach Tern* M urray says. “But we've w atched Mark M essier.

Wayne Gretzky. Mario Lemieux and Patrick Roy turn the tide in Stanley Cup final series the last decade or so. One key guy like Eric U ndros or John LeClair can make a differ­ ence in a tight series. A big difference."

Lindros was pointless and shotless in the Flyers' first game of the second round against the Panthers. But you knew he wouldn’t stay silent long. Last Saturday, he left the Pan­ thers bloodied and bruised with his physical play and set up two goals before scoring the winner nine minutes into the third period of a 3-2 victory.

Lemieux. Jagr. M essier. Graves. Lindros.

Jerem y Roenick. Joe Sakic. Gretzky. Brett Hull and Sergei Fedorov are on display in this second round—and contributing big time.

Although the Devils won the Cup last sea­ son'on the strength of a stifling neutral-zone trap system , the contributions of M artin B rodeur in goal. Scott Stevens on defense and Claude Lemieux up front were tough to b eal .And that's what to look for now.

"The big guv's step up to the plate in these games," Rangers coach Colin Campbell says.

“Mess and Adam Graves did it for us after we were down 2-0 to Montreal in the first round, and they have to do it again against Pittsburgh.

“Ive been talking about their great players and how we have to m ake them work for

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Look for the star system to decide the Cup race

Sticking it to opponents: This is the time o f the year when a superstar such as a Super Mario, Messier, Jagr. Lindros or Fedorov can carry his team all the way to a tide their goals until I’m blue in the face. You can’t turn away from Jarom ir Jagr in our own end or let Mario Lemieux beat you in a foot race.

We don’t often give up the lead in the third period, but we did in Game I by not making Jagr and Lemieux work twice as hard for their chances. You can’t give them an inch be­ cause they ll wind up taking IO feel" com ing up. ... G.M. Cliff F letcher is also off the hot seat in Toronto. But a S3 mil­ lion cut in the Maple Leafs’ budget will put Fletcher on the spot to re-sign M ats Sundin and Mathieu Schnei­ der. Backup goaltender Don Beaupre. right wing Wayne Presley and defensem en Dave Ellen and Todd Gill are likely history in Toronto.

R angers assistant coach Mike M urphy is getting m ore play as the Maple Leafs’ next coach.

Call it ironic, but an arbi­ trator awarded Penguins left wing Petr Nedved $200,000 in b o n u s e s — from th e R an g ers—just before Nedved faced off against his old team in the second round of the playoffs. The Rangers had refused to pay playoff bonuses to Nedved from last season, and to Glenn .Anderson. Esa Tikkanen and Nick Kypreos from their Stanley Cup season in 1994. because the bonuses

A wise man once said. “Once you get into the playoffs, the dancers dance and the singers sing. And the Oscars go to the best of those entertainers."

T here are no O scars in the N H L But one player can make a difference, and his reward is the right to lift the Stanley Cup trophy in celebration.

w ere agreed to by other teams. T he Rangers had ac­ quired those contracts in tra d e s .... In the afterm ath of M ontreal’s first-round loss to the Rangers, look for the Canadiens to trade left wing Andrei Kovalenko and per­ haps defensem an Vladimir Malakhov. Kovalenko had 17 goals and 17 assists in 51 gam es after com ing from Colorado in the Patrick Roy trade, but he was a noshow in the playoffs and wound up in coach M ario T rem blay’s doghouse. M alakhov com­ plained of the treatm ent he received by Canadiens doc­ tors over an injury that side­ lined him down the stretch and through the playoffs.

Tam pa Bay -defenseman Roman Ham rlik’s tem per tantrum with coach T erry Crisp will make for interest­ ing fodder this offseason.

One of the two likely will not be back. Crisp is in con­ tention for coach of the year, yet he has no c o n tra c t He

m akes $285,000 and wants a three-year deal in the $700,000 range. T he Light­ ning can’t afford not to give it to him. ... Kypreos. dis­ cussing his im pending freeagent status: “In sports to­ day. we are all like indepen­ dent contractors. We’re all for sale. If s like the general m anagers are all sitting around a table playing Mo­ nopoly—and rm not exactly Boardwalk." +

Larry Wigge has covered hockey fo r T h e S p o r t in g N e w s since 1969.

Mav 13.1996

All of the trappings No one wanted to give the D evils their due for the frustrating, nail-biting neutral-zone trap defense they used to win the Stanley Cup last spring. M ost of the leagues stars predicted teams would not try to duplicate the D evils' style.

Don't look now. but the M yers have that same trapped feeling after being held to 18 shots in a 2-0 Dam e I East­ ern Conference playoff loss to the devilishly frustrating Panthers and their trap defense.

W h en the gam e was over. Panthers goaltender Jo h n Yanbiesbrouck admitted his team studied tapes of the Devils* series against the Flyers in last year's conference finals. “ W e don’t play exactly like the D evils, we forecheck harder with two men in deep than N ew Je r ­ sey." he said. “ Bu t the idea to frustrate is similar.** N ever underestim ate a team that plays a trap defense.

A s boring and frustrating as the style can be. it is effec­ tive. T h e Lightning frustrated the M yers in the first round of the playoffs, thanks in part to their version of the trap defense.

Studying tapes of the M yers helped the Panther^ post

again

a 3-0-3 record in their six visits to Philadelphia b rio n ­ ine M yers rallied for a .3-2 Cam e 2 victory. * » .And the Panthers are not the only team trapping op­ ponents into subm ission 'H ie Blackhaw ks went from a strong forechecking approach to a neutral-zone defensr this season under rookie coach Craig H artsburg And. believe it o r not. the offensively powerful Penguin-* also play a form of the trap.

"T h e y lure.you into trading rushes with them, seduce you into all-out offensive* hockey, then score while you're trapp<*d up ice.** Rangers goaltender M ik e Richter s a v s .

"T h e y take som e pretty wild chances. T h e y'll come­ down on a 2 on I or 3 on 2 and the defense will join the rush. And then. all of a sudden, if they don't score, you think you have a great opportunity, only to find that they have trapped you into taking a wild chance yourself and m aking a bad turnover that they can beat yon with again."

No. the D evils might not be playing in the post season this year. but their legacy lives on.

- ♦ — L a r r y W ig g e

Friends

Save the Whales

No. w^e’re not talking about the popular TV show; we're talking about the Rangers' I T Samuelsson and Luc Robitaille playing against their old Pen­ guins teammates in the second round of the playoffs.

It has been a war of words, especially when Samuelsson speaks.

“Iv e been easv* on them this season, just two penalty minutes." he said before the se- I lies. “ But there will be no special treatment in Icy reception: Samuelsson (on ice) says he unll play no this series.

Mario favorites in his playoff battles with the Penguins (Lemieux) and Jags (Jaromir Jagr) will get players healthy. the same kind of treatment I've .given to th e Flyers' En c Lindros. Brett's opponents all of those years in Pitts­ brother, says he also suffered dizziness burgh." after several big hits in his rookie sea­ And that means slashing, hacking. son. “I would have a lot of blurriness on whacking— anything to get them off the bench." he says. “ It wasn't enough to their game. keep me out of games, but it was trou­ “W e ll be friends again after the series, blesome. Hayers are getting bigger and but thev are enemies on the ice." taster. They're not going to change the Samuelsson says. “ I’ve seen Mario and size of the ice surface, so collisions are Jaromir take apart too many teams over going to bt' that much more painful un­ the years to know that I can't let them less some safety devices are put into take advantage of me— or else my team place." will suffer "

When commissioner Gary Penman gets involved in a learnt problems, vuu know the situation is serious And you also know everything that can br done to keep the team in that city will b<The next two weeks will bi* crunch time tor the Whalers, who have in­ creased their ticket base to 7.6U ) but artwell short of owner Peter KaxmanoV goal of 11.(XX) tickets sold.

"Perm ission has not and will not be given to the W halers to talk to other cities until this scenario is played out."

Beltm an says of a situation' that reportedly has cost Karmanos losses of $14 million and $20 million the last two seasons.

Insiders say this situation i>similar to the recent one in Winnipeg It appears all attempts will be made to keep the team in Hartford and that the Whalers likely will stay there at least one more season.

Gone, but Rot forgotten

Pumping for Oil

The career of Bren Lindros barely got started before he was forced to retire af­ ter suffering six concussions in two sea­ sons with the Islanders and IO over his last four seasons.

“I listened to the advice of my doc­ tors." Lindros says. ‘Some of their con­ cerns— due to my vision impairment last year— were that permanent vision im­ pairment w-as a possibility, as was brain damage.

"It's every kid's dream to play in the N H L M y dream's been shattered."

Islanders general manager/coach Mike Milbury says defenseman Dennis Yaske also might have to quit because of concussion problems. He says the league should do a study on the safety features teams can use to keep their

Oilers owner Peter Pocklington has given G A I. Glen Sather permission to sign youngsters Jason Arnott. Doug Weight and Zdeno Liger, and Pockling­ ton says he sees the possibility' of actu­ ally making a profit— if all luxury boxes are purchased and close to 13.000 sea­ son tickets are sold.

An Edmonton group has until May 31 to meet those goals— or Pocklington will be able to shop around for a new city.

Pocklington says the team wouid be able lo afford a payroll of $21 million to $22 million if the target is met. The team currently has a payroll of $16.5 million. .After rumors that the Oilers were headed to Portland. Ore., the prospects now appear good that they will stay in Edmonton.

Streak ended When Jeremy Roenick scored in over time to give Chicago a 3-2 victory over Colorado, it ended one of the most in­ teresting streaks in N H L history The goal was the first allowed in an extra period by Patrick Roy after 12 con­ secutive overtime playoff victo ria since 1993. the postseason when hrhelped the Canadiens win IO overturn games en route to the Stanley Cup It gave the B la c k h a w k s three overtime victories in the playoffs and Colorado four losses in its past five overtime games.

The Shawville vote Shawviile. Quebec, has a real rooting interest in the PhiladeJphia-Flonba sec­ ond-round series because two. of it** favorite sons are involved— Bryan and Terry Murray ‘ Shawville is 99 percent for the* Pan­ thers." says older brother Bryan, the general manager of the Panthers “ In fact, the only vote for the Flyers was an absentee ballot from Terry."

Terry, coach of the Flyers, admits Bryan is the more famous of the two brothers but says he might come up with a different tally if he were to poll the citizens of Shawville. ♦

TUE BOOK ON

MIKE RICCI Avalanche center Not everybody enjoyed his first season in Colorado. Mike Rica didn't.

Six goals, 21 assists and 62 games were not the kind of numbers Ricci had envi­ sioned for the Avalanche s first season.

But then he didn't plan on having the kind of sinus problems he battled in the M ile High City of Denver The high altitude played havoc with Ricci's game and forced him into having surger v to eliminate sinus pain. But if Game 2 of t olorado's secondround series against 'h« Blackhawks is any indication. Rica r^atiy to carry his weight in the playoffs Ricci had three assist:* rn a 5-1 victory last Saturday, helping the Avalanche even the series at one game apiece. But the scoring is secondarv ie other contribu­ tions Ricci consistent makes on the ice “You won't find un more tenacious checkers in the league. Flames coach Pierre Page says. “Mike sticks his nose in

the middle of ail the action— and he usu­ ally averages about 25 to $0 goals and 55 to 60 points per season as w ell" Ricci combines with Refer Eorsberg and Joe Sakic to giv» 'he Avalanche a balance at centra 'ha? no team ryouthful n can match. R ica . I i. *a> 'he fourth overall pick of the 1990 .iran by the Fly­ ers. He was part of the 1992 trade that sent Erie Lindro^ from Quebec to Philadelphia and earned a quick reputa­ tion as a solid two-way contributor.

Some of his ability to win taceoffs and take on tight checking assignments against the other teamN best offensive playerrom es from his rather, who was a professional soccer olayer in Italy. “ I'm never going 'n or a 100-point player like Peter and Joe. but there are plenty of other jobs a good center can do for the good of the team." Ricci says. “ I can help do the dirty work— and still get my share of points.

“I’m not happy with my first season in Denver, but Iv e still got time to make up for that."

Teams that have designs on winning a Stanley Cup have to have three balanced scoring lines to counteract the tight checking of playoff hockey. If Ricci con­ tinues to contribute like he did in Game 2 against Chicago, the Avalanche could make a surprising run. +

—U arr Wb s e

48 • NBA

Tile Sporting News

are impressive totals, his scoring average was hts lowest since 1987-88. his rebound­ ing average was his lowest since 1988-89 and his 46.6 percent S O U shooting was the worst of his career, an indication he is get­ ting fewer easy shots close to the basket.

Perhaps the dimin­ ishing skills explain why Ewing has be­ come more vocal this season than at any time in his career. Per­ haps he sees his ca­ reer ending without a championship.

“One of my biggest disappointments (in leaving New York) is for Patrick." Riley says. “ He's a warrior and a player who de­ Bv S am S mith serves to win a cham­ pionship. He always ichael Jordan hopes was the kind of player to per a fourth NBA who wanted a sense of title this spring. order, who was disci­ plined. hard-working.

Most believe he will.

He didn't like disorga­ Patrick Ewing hopes lo get nization. clutter. He rebeyond the Eastern Conference spected the environ­ semifinals next week. ment” Most believe he won't.

But that seemed to I-ast Sunday, two of the pre­ change with Riley’s mier players of this era. who | departure. were expected to dominate the Ewing rebelled Finals as tarry Bird and Magic against Don Nelson Johnson did after coming into § Prime and punishment The pounding Ewing has taken over the years and his easygoing ways. even if Nelson the league in 197V. met again in | has robbed him ofsome quickness, and teammates such as Mason may seemed to be right in saying that Ewing the playoffs. if be gone next season, but Ewing remains upbeat about the team. needs to be supported by a better player at Jordan has lived up to and ex­ this stage of his career. ceeded all expectations. Ewing unkish and puerile. T m happy with my .Against Mourning in the first round, they Ewing demanded the ball and. in effect has prospered, but he seems to be growing game. I’m blocking shots and rebounding used a double-team when he tried to dribble Nelson’s departure. Ewing was an outspoken further from the success he enjoyed as an / and doing the things it takes to win. Every­ because he is a poor passer and is limited in voice with the dissident players in the union NCAA champion at ( Georgetown. ^ body is saving I’m done. I’m just having fun. figuring out his options. That’s not the case barde last summer, and it’s no coincidence .After getting to the seventh game of the Fi­ "I don’t care about the Bulls. J don’t care with Ewing, who makes smart decisions in union leader Charles Smith was traded. nals in 1994. Ewing is facing the possibility of who we play. .All I care about is winning." the post.

But Ewing has remained one of the most Ins second straight second-round playoff tast week. the Knicks did something they But he’s not the center he was. and while noble and stately figures in pro sports. • elimination never did under Pat Riley—they swept a play­ Ewing remains proud and stubborn about There never has been a whiff of scandal as­ Yet. as always, he remains undaunted, un­ off aeries (3-0 over the Cavaliers). himself and his game, there are signs of slip­ sociated with him. and this playing in New fazed and confident Now the Knicks are trying to reach anoth­ page.

"I really believe we can be great against York, where athletes seemingly are exam­ er goal in the postseason they never accom­ Four years of pounding and demands un­ ined with the most high-powered of micro­ ti he Bulls)." Ewing says "We feel we’re a plished under Riley: beat Jordan in a series. der Riley seem to have sapped Ewing of his scopes. good team. Ifs a new season ~ But for the Knicks to defeat the Bulls. Ew­ quickness, and he's often loath— or unable— The Knucks clearly are a team in transition.

No major NBA star has been subjected to ing will have to be the MNT the rest of the to make a move across the middle, preferring with perhaps a> many as three starters— as much criticism for his play and inability games. The question is whether he is still to settle for jumpers along the baseline.

I >erek Harper. John Starks and either .Antho­ to make his team a champion as Ewing. .And able to play like one.

The Bulls’ strategy is to try to push nim ny Mason or Charles ( >akiey—expected to be ".All that concern is from you.” Ewing said to through it all. he has remained almost out for that shot or double-team him when he elsewhere next reason. Management made a courtly. reporters. "I feel good.” .After last spring s dis­ makes a move inside. aeries iii midseason trades to prepare for an aster against Shaquille O'Neal, the Bulls have A career 23.8 points-per-game scorer en­ He frustrates the media with a practiced aggressive summer that even includes court­ pretty much committed to not double-teaming tering this season. Ewing averaged 22.5 distance, rarely opening up about his life, his ing Jordan av a tree agent, and Ewing per­ centers so they can guard the shooters. points and 10.6 rebounds. While those still thoughts, feelings or beliefs. He plays and ac­ haps getting hi> tour th coach in less than two cepts the judgment. se a so n s His draft class of 1985 and Jordan Michael Jordan entered the NBA in 1984. Patrick Ewing in 1985. W hile both have W h ile Jordan has. played tor two and Hakeem Olajuwon's of 1984 were enjoyed tremendous individual success.

Ewing's teams nave never beaten Jordan's coaches vince 19n\ Ew ing has played expected to dominate the sport for a teams in the playoffs (0-4).

Here s how they compare in other achievements: tor ibret m the iast w a r and eight since decade. Jordan did. and Olajuwon final­ iv s * Whil« Jordan has been compli­ ly caught up. But Ewing hasn’t quite JORDAN EWING mented rn a feguirnan star in .scottie gotten there Bipjx-n. Ew ing never has been paired .And. once again. Jordan, w'ho shot 3 NCAA Final Fours M M with another top ut tensive player down Ewing s Georgetown team in the f ; T NCAA titles But he remains a capable, ii no longer 1982 NCAA Final, stands in the way. .“./ ii dominant, toro l*hat wav evident in “ Him again'” Ewing said with a Olympic gold medals r n f .ame ! in th< Bolis V I-nj victory. E w ­ laugh in the Knicks’ locker room last if All-NBA first team selections 3 f t l ing sowed J*, pointv and grabbed 16 reweek. =•* / bounds But in aivi* missed eight tit jo Forever linked, and each with a dif­ 0 MVP awards TSH ferent. but no less vital, measure of suc­ shots in the si*i*«iud Ital! and struggled 1 NBA Finals appearances - 3 j? H cess and respect. ♦ at the iou! line Betorn the sones, he was

standing

He is no longer the player he once was, but Patrick Ewing remains undaunted in facing age, critics and the possibility of another second-round elimination

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content with the state of hts game "I lee’! gin Kl." says I-wing. as dignified and gentlemanly av Alonzo Mourning iv

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Sam Sm ith covers the S B A for the Chicago Tribune.

May 13.1996_______________________________________________________

NBA REPORT

Johnson’s return was no Magic remedy for Lakers

Shaun

POWELL ow that Magic Johnson and hrs Lak­ ers team m ates have the rest of the sum m er off. they should begin re­ ducing the great distance betw een them. Call it a Generation (X) gap. In a nut­ sh e ll Johnson d oesn ’t understand his team­ mates, and they don't understand him.

That becam e obvious during their firstround series with the Rockets, and it raised seriou s q uestions about Johnson's future with the team.

Too often during that series, Johnson talked about the old days with the old players, and the current Lakers tired of hearing about it.

Fearful of challenging Johnson, nobody spoke out publicly at first Then. before Game 3. Nick Van Exel questioned why the Lakers were not going more often to Eddie Jones in the fourth quarter— a clear indication of waning confi­ dence in Johnson's post play. lf the Rockets' series w-as a true indica­

N

Sun spots H ere's som e unsolicited advice for the Suns: Trade Charles Barkier. Soon. Before it's too late.

Once resistent to relocate Sir Charles, the Suns now have a lot of reasons to allow him to retire in a different uniform: ■ He still has trade value.

Barkley posted im pressive num bers during the season and playoffs and. m ore important, his body held together. Surely those teams that lo se out in the Juwan Howard sw eepstakes would accept Barkley in a deal. He holds particular attraction to utie contenders, w ho know he would give a superior effort if a ring is in sight.

■ Barkley d o esn ’t do losing well. T he Suns' roster is virtually locked up for two years* b ecau se of the gen erosity of president J e r r y C o la n g e lo . w ho show ed loyalty by giving m egabuck deals to A C .

Green. Danny Manning and Wavman Tisdale. B ecause the Suns no longer have the look of a contender, they might exp erience a steep *

i I I | I 1

tor— and maybe it wasn't— the Ukers-Johnson reunion needs a quick separation.

The fractured club lacked on-the-floor chem istry, and it paled in contrast to the pre­ cision teamwork the Rockets displayed T h a t's the thing with this team." johnson says. ’T h e little ittv-bitty things that really don't mean much show up on the court. We have to stop blaming others and look at our­ selv es.”

Johnson, however, was the one pointing a finger, first at coach Del Harris because he was not satisfied with his Game I role, then toward som e o f his teammates.

Evidently, a lot has changed during John­ son's 4 4 years away from the Lakers, and he's having trouble understanding it all. He has a tough time com ing to grips with the re­ alization that these Lakers aren't his old Lak­ ers.

M essage to Johnson: Stop daydreaming.

Worthy. Abdukjabbar and Coop aren't com ­ ing back.

T h ese Lakers don't have the exp erience and aren't as battle-tested. T h ese Lakers will take time, and Johnson, an old 36. doesn't have much of that.

The locker-room atm osphere isn t the sam e to Johnson, either. He doesn't have a. close relationship with any of his teammates: in fact. he sp en d s much of his tim e with Lester Conner, who was hired by the Lakers as a part-time assistant, primarily to Johnson.

Two years ago. Johnson couldn't coach th ese Lakers: now he finds it tough to adjust

fall. .Anyone who know’s Barkley can see him as a big disruption in a bad situation. .Ask the Sixers.

■ T he Suns need cap relief. T hey have players (M anning. Green. Hot Rod Williams) who have started their decline. To provide a balance for the future, the Suns could u se m ore new blood to accompany Michael Finley. Elliot Perry' and W esley Person. Barkley might bring a starter or two.

■ Barkley loves Phoenix, but not necessarily the team.

B e fo r e th e S u n s w ere elim inated by the Spurs.

Barkley said: “I want to be in the right environm ent. We have an old team."

Your move. Phoenix.

I Changing face : j : * I ; t :

A pair of front-office upheavals d eserv e a closer look.

John Nash resigned as the Bullets* general manager af* ter his neck had spent the year on the chopping block.

B ullets owner Abe Pollin hesitated to supply the ax until he was n ot-sogen tly nudged, apparently, by team

Johnson has made it clear he prefers playing point guard, "whether it's with the Likers or som e­ where else " But the Lakers have an investm ent in Van Exel. who is lo years younger .And Johnson probably would discover that play­ ing point may be more dillieu it than power forward.

He isn't the player he used in be He's older, he has lost som e quickness and he's heavier Plus, his defense is not as good Som e ot the quick, young, sm aller point guards would relish the chance to breeze past Johnson in the open court.

U nless la k e r s presi­ dent Jerry West believes Johnson can lead the team to a cham pionship quickly. Van Exel isn t go­ ing anywhere.

That would force John­ son. who will becom e a free agent this summer, lo explore other options "I know there are Oil and water. Johnson and his young lakers teammates have been team s interested in me." like two generations passing in the night he says "Five. six. seven at least." The Lakers to them as teammates. would love to keep johnson and Van Exel and At least the Lakers can take com fort in the add-a free-agent big man such as D ikem be know ledge that chem istry takes time lo de­ Mutombo or even shaquille O'Neal. velop. Johnson's return was sprung upon the But an uncomfortable reunion with Magic younger Lakers at m idseason, and it forced Johnson is not what the la k ers had in mind them to make ch an ges in style and strategy w hen they persuaded him to return to the .And maybe losing to the two-time champion court. Then again, this -a a sm what Johnson Rockets— no sham e there— simply brought had rn mind. either out the frustration.

“IU tell you one thing." Johnson says “( )ne The bigger question now is this- Can joh n ­ way or another, thi- is going to be an inter­ son and Van Exel coexist? esting summer"

Familiar face: Favorite son Unseid will be calling the shots for a Bullets franchise that could use some front-office cohesion president Susan O’Malley.

Replacing Nash is Wes Unseid. Polling favorite son.

Nash m ade som e unfor­ givable blunders over the past few years. He ques­ tioned the skills of his own pick. Juwan Howard, and ru­ ined that relationship Two years ago. the Bullets could have given Howard a sixyear. $24 million contract.

What they gave him was a two-year out.

That will probably cost the

NBA . 4 9

• Bullets $25 million, because > the free-agent Howard will ; be heavily pursued this sum ­ mer.

Nash also strained his re­ lationship with Chris Webber I when he threatened to fine ; him for taping a cam eo cm : “New York Undercover" mi stead of sitting on the bench for a B ullets hom e gam e Nash also was criticized for . the trade that sent a firstround pick to Cleveland for Mark Price, who couldn't

pass his physical and proba­ bly won t play another game for Washington But Nash shouldn't be tak­ ing the tall for all these deci­ sions. Pollin should share the blame It was Pollin who was un­ willing to change contracts to give Howard tnt- long-term deal, and it was Pollin who said OK to the Price trade af­ ter listening to Cavs owner Gordon Gund tell him it was a good swap Nash also drafted Brent Price, most improved player G heorghe M uresan and un­ derrated center Jim Mcllvaine. .Ail has not been quiet in the M avericks organization, either. The new ow nership. led by Ross Perot Jr.. made som e strange decisions after acquiring about 66 percent of the club It fired Dick Mona and kept businessm an Norm Sonju. a poor basketball man. as the team's CEO The change also left per­ sonnel director Kekh Grant and assistant coach Brad Davis in limbo The Mavs have spoken to the lak ers' Mitch Kupchak about run­

ning the basketball opera­ tion. and Davis, once slated to coach the team when Mona retired, niav be out of the loop Perot says he wants to build a winning team H ell have to prove that by build­ ing a better front of lice

Around the league The team that can afford to take a risk on Kobe Bryant or Jermaine O ’Neal, the two high school players who plan to apply for the June 26 draft, is N ew York.

The Knicks have two firstround picks, three if they ex ­ ercise their option on At­ lanta's. .. Stephen Marbury and .Allen [verson are e x ­ pected to go am ong the top five picks The B ucks and T im berw olves need point guards, as (Joes Vancouver. where Greg .Anthony may not be the long-term answer. .. Once the Sonics are done in the playoffs, the H ornets want to explore the possibil­ ity oi hiring G eorge Karl. who may not be w elcom ed back to seattle ♦ S h a u n Bo w ell c o v e n the S H A for S e w s d a \

The Sporting News

so • NBA ference final is a possibilin'.

The N BA is loaded with good. All-Star-calibcr players who haven't demonstrated an ability to shift into a high* en gear in the postseason. No queslion. Robinson has been a solid playolf player. His ca­ reer averages support this: 24 I points, l l rebounds. 48 percent shooting. He doesn't regress inio a TIU’ hol-stovo issue ihe dud like another Robinson— Clifford >pur> ii)i> fX)slst*ason regards in Portland— around this time. ihc {rxlure of l)and Robinson's Bul has David Robinson ever elevat­ cann* ed his game? Has he ever had one of Hard or st)fl those memorable, stop-the-presses per­ ' o hear (he ^pu^s. ihe kncx'k formances in the playoffs, particularly on Robinson is bopus and base­ against top competition? less In lat'i. [hey are defendin/: Has he ever destroyed anyone’ Robinson's Uniphness so much.

That s the question. lhe\'ve made him oui lo be As good as he is from November N'hwar/eneji^er through .April. Michael Jordan always >pur^ coach Bob Hill v*alls the saves his best for the spring and sum­ notion of Robinson bein.c soft mer. So does Olajuwon. whose remark­ ‘ndiailoiis-’ able playoff run i i i year— especially his Maybe everyone's overreacidominance of Robinson—ranks as one ini: and missinj: the fxiini. Robinof the all-lime great individual perfor­ stm's loujjhness isn’l ihe ques­ mances. Reggie Miller is another. Same tion and never was How can for Charles Barklev. % somt*one who routinely averThe great players simpK find a way to become greater when the games lakv aj:es a dozen rebounds and a few on special meaning. blocked shots a ^rame bt' considThe Spurs and Robinson are off to a ert-d meek and weak in the Hot start Robinson scorched die Suns, but he has solid start. Thev dismissed the Suns in paint' to cin'Qtc his game against the elite centers four games, and Robinson was the cata­ Nil. not a mailer ot Robinlyst. disrupting the Suns with his intimis**n s courdjLfe ll Is a mailer oi Robinson’s ability lo rise lo the occasion in dation on defense and causing serious matchup problems for Phoenix on offense. hic C'lnies .After the series, the Spurs pointed lo Robinson's solid allMeanmp. playou cames around play as proof of his playoff "arrival.*’ except they forgot On ihai charge. Robinson is .oiilly uniil he proves oihcrone fairly significant fact; WIM* He played against Hoi Rod Williams.

Meaning, he can shake fret til this lac ^^nce and for all.

Maybe we all should wait before we condemn or praise should bt la) pet payback on Haktvm Olajuwon. or ibi take Robinson. We should allow- him to choose his fate. In a few the >{mi> lo the SHA Finals. weeks. Robinson will have shed an irritating image once and Ko'Dinson can accomplish om* or both this season, because ♦ tmU’nnp the week he had the Spurs learinp through the play- for all. or he will deal with ii for al least another vear.

— ^HAWPOWai oils. and a Houston-San .Antonio met'iing in the Western Con-

The Admirars mission

Houston rock The io\aJt>' of Rudy Tomjanowh lo the R»K'k(H> w fil known, bul '>anoiher txjm(xmy man on his staff. .Assistani ciw h Carrol) I )awv>n is in his 16lh >rar with the it-am and has sal on the bt*nch with previou> Rockets a>ache> IV ! Ham>. Bill Fnch.

Don Chanev' and now Tomjamwich. Daw­ son i<the onK a«v'h who ha< 'ix'cn on all lour of ih<- team's staffs that have bren lo the NB.A Finals (1981. '86. V4 and ‘tCij

That loyalty has extended iwo ways In 19^*0. after being struck by lightning while playing golf. Dawson bogan lo hav<-pR)blernswiih his eves H<-lo>i the Mghi in his left eyo Then he underwonl <iirgor\ on hi^ righi oho. leaving him compleleiy blind lur about two weeks Ho toll' Chaney he prohabh wouldn't make It back kir the seas<»n. but e’haney and the team told him they wtuild wail for him Dawsnm couldn't drive for live monihs. <0 Tomjanovic'n and v»d<‘oiapt' cotirdmalor Ka Bernholz drovt- hun lo and from games and (iractices Dawson considered retiring, bul he slayed on. and he'< glad he did He h<i|x*c) the team win iw-o slraighi titles, and he coniinues to have a sptvial bond wit ii Tomjanovich "U'orkmg with Rudy IN like working w-jih my brother." he '^ay- ” 1 could never Net mvM'lf on the bern-h without him "

Sound substitutes A big reason the S»mc- linalK woe. a lirNi-round MTieN and (ta/7i<- ! oi ilx-ir M-niiiina! against the Kocke’N wa^ liu-ir

bench- Despite having to play the most v'omplicaied defenst* in the league, the team defense often has improved when the bench enters the game. The four main reserves— Nate McMillan. Sam Perkins. Vincent .Askew and Frank Bnckowski— have a combined 37 vears of experience in the league.

"Thev• aren't flambovant.*’ coach • Cieorge Kar! says, "but they always come off the bench smart."

IVrkins. TA. has been with the bionics since 1993. .Askew. 30. joined the team in 1992. Brickow ski. 36. is in his second lour of dut>' with the team. .And McMil­ lan. 31. has been with Seattle since 1986.

"We do the little things, we rotate quickly, we're where we are supposed lo be." .Askew sav's. "^^‘hen the game is over. they are not so little."

Clashing with Reggie l^sl Sunday in (iame 5 of the HawksPacers series. Reggie Miller, in his sur­ prising return from an eye injury, fell one shot short of completing another playoff magic trick—and of getting the last word on the Hawks' Steve Smith.

Before the game. M iller said Smith had btrn acting loo cock7 on the court.

"I see Steve Smith, and I see all the g>raiions and ail the antics." Miller said.

"No disrespect to Ricky (Pierce, who had been filling in for Miller) or any of the gtivs that are guarding him. bul he wouldn't be doing thai (if I was playmg!" .Miller sct^red 29 pomls and jawed wiih 8miih up and down (he court.

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Cape fear. Miller says people mistakenly

think of him as some kind of si-'perherv.

Smith finished with 17 points on 6K>f-ll shooting. After the game, .Miller was more interested in talking about the lim­ itations of his own game rather than Smith's. ’Tm not no Superman, even though people perceive me lo be that way." he says. "It wasn't guaranleed just becausiI was in a uniform that we were going to win this gam<- In truth, ii probably was a lot harder."

THE BOOK ON

RONHARPa Bodsglad Atter eight years of being a star. Ron Harper is a lamber bf the Bulls’ supporting cast. And that suits him just fine.

‘There aren’t many guys in the league who would have accepted (the reduced minutes) the way Ron did.' Bulls guard Steve Kerr says. 'That’s one of the reasons he's so popular on the team."

The Bulls signed Harper in 1994. hoping he would help fill the scoring void

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left by Michael Jordan, then a right fielder. Atter averaging mom than 19 points per game over eight years with the Cavaliers and Clippers, Hajper nianaged fewer than seven points a game last season. He attributed h‘is poor performance to reporting to camp out of shape. By season's end, he was little more thjn a bench ornament Haiper worked out religiously over the summer But Vvith Jordan babk full rime, the team needed Harper not to score bul to concentrate on defense. T I* season, his contributioacanl be queened.

“Everybody says they vrant^ win. but few players are wining to make the sacrifice." Bulls assistant coach Jim Cleamons says. "We\e got enough scorers on this team, and Ron realizes there are other ways to take advantage of his skiils. His defense on shooting guards has been outstanding."

Harper’s m oth^n to improve came as much from himself as from the biggest Bulls fan he knows, his mother, Gloretha, who taught him the game. She played six* on-sbt half-courl in high school.

Harper is one of six children in hts family, and all six were raised solely by Gloretha in Da^on. Ohio. He was always shy. opting to smile instep of talk. It was his v/ay of masking a stuttering problem.

Speech classes helped, but he soon found another way to deal with the problem. “Whenever somebody made fun of me." Harper recalls, "I said. 'OK. play basketball with me.’ Then I made fyn of them." Today, he occasionally gets stuck on words, but his problems are 90 ■percem behindhlnu lf Harper seems overly content playing a secondary role on die Bulls, ifs because he understands theres more to life than minutes played and scoring averages.

"People always said I couldnl do this or that because of my speech impediment." Harper says. "But I knew deep down what land of guy I was. I always told myself that someday. I was going to have the last laugh." ♦

— iHtor Brebbtb*

May 13.1996

COLLEGE FOOTBALL/COLLEGE BASKETBALL • 51 COLLEGE FOOTBALL REPORT

’hen Notre Dame wrapped up its spring practice two w ee k s ago. co a ch Lou Holtz said the Irish had been limited on offense for several rea so n s. T h e offensive largely new. T h e wide re c e iv e rs a re largely slow. .And Holtz had only two q u a rte rb a ck s this spring.

W ith Ron Powlus still recuperating from the broken arm he suffered late last season.

Holtz had junior Tom K ru g and sophom ore Jario u s Ja ck so n . Holtz had no qualm s about the ability of Krug, the junior-to-be who played so well in place of Powjus last season T h e potential for Ja ck so n is trem endous. Rut

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL REPORT

Who says Bryant’s 1,080 SAT is going to waste?

Mike DeCOURCY uestions about the relative fitness of young Kobe Bryant for iife in the S B A should have been answered the moment he appeared for the news conference in which he dismissed col­ lege basketball as unworthy of even a mte ment of his time.

The shades, man. Way too cool for college .As anyone who flipped on an all-sports na­ tion in the past couple weeks discovered, though. Kobe - look did not answer all or perhaps- any. of the questions about whether he will be a little lost child among all t h o s e NBA meanies. Bryant, who played at i/)wer Merlon High in suburban Philadelphia this past winter, will become the second prep play­

Q

er in as many years to enter the pro draft. Pm not sure why anyone cares whether he's ready for such a life, because his folks appar­ ently didn't, but a bit of research turned up a handful of reasons why Bryant could be mak­ ing the right move.

Reason No. 5: Randy Livingston When he played high school ball in New <Jriean* in the early 1990s. Livingston's game was nearly identical to Jason Kidd's. A b-4 point guard.

Livingston handled the ball. distributed it beautifully, overwhelmed opponents with his strength and struggled to master the art of the jump shot.

He was the prototypical '9<k point guard until, after signing with LSI . he went to work as a counselor at a summer basketball camp Playing in a pickup game. he ture up hi* knee and hasnt been the same since In three sears of college, he hasn't played a Tull sea­ son yet Langston was rated among the top three players »n his class, just like Brvani lf I jv mgston had entered the draft instead of col­ lege- he d never nave been iii that pickup game Reason No. 4: J trod Ward <)m* of the top three players in the class of '94. Ward had the frame and game to look like the best small forward prospect to hit college basketball in

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it remains largely potential. W ith two quar­ terbacks. Holtz had to be careful. Little did h<know.

Last Friday. Notre Dame announced Krug’s career had ended. A routine X ray taken after he suffered a sprained neck in the Irish's first Blue-and-Gold game .April 20 re­ vealed Krug has multiple fused vertebrae in his neck. Translation: His spinal cord isn't protected as well as it should be Not only should Krug not play football, but doctors also suggested he never even ski It is a congenital defect, which means any maudlin sentiments about late should be left to the soap operas. Krug is one of the luckiest young men walking “ He's extremely fortu­ nate that he has never had a problem." Notre Dame trainer Jim Russ says. line will be Dame called in two neurosurgeons Notre to view the X-rays. Krug underwent a CTscan. Everyone agreed he had played his 'last down. Krug's career ended after 14 appear­ ances. the last rwo starts. He completed 14 of 24 passes for 140 yards and three touch­ downs in the Orange Bowl loss to Florida State. His absence will put more pressure on everyone. Powlus. w-ho has suffered two ma­ jor injuries in three years, must stay healthy Jackson completed d of 19 passes in the sec­

> i s s

Irish’s offensive options keep getting smaller

Rote TBO: Krug will be involved with Sot re Dame football next season but not as a quarterback .-\fier he suffered a sprained neck X-rays disclosed he has a congenital spinal cord defert ond Blue-and-Cruld Game and was the most outstanding offensive player That capped a good spring for Jackson, al­ though Holtz's idea of using Jackson a'* a multipleposition player had ’n) be put aside “ We split him out on one occasion, long enough for him to drop one pass. He did run a nice pattern." Holtz deadpans. “W ith univ two quarterbacks we needed to give januu* a lot of work. We couldn't afford the luxury of teaching him to be a wide receiver He has a chance to be a good quarterback " Now he has a good chance of being a *i;trt; ing quarterback He i< second-stnng behind Powlus. “ (Krug) will be part of our team thi*

fall." Holt/ say-., "even if he won’, b»- in uni­ form “ Now. there iv oniv Puu-iu* and Ja c k ­ son 'suddenly, the ln *h * problems l5t wide receiver don’t seem quite a* important

Spring-cleaning Georgia Tech finished die spring with red­ shift freshman Joe Hamilton the leader c quarterback Hamilton 'A L A > 9). gives up five inches and 22 pounds to sophomore Brandon >haw Loach George O 'lr a r v wail divide on a starter eight dav* before the Au­ gust Ti opener + D a n M a n te l o o r n

•■"Urge f o o t b a ll fo r

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more than a decade And he knew ;t \i: American gam*- and Magic * Rmindbau Jerod always played like he loved his gla**k. I pon arriving a: n Linn *. he dis. game. He shot XM from the field ant! aver • covered hi* teammate* *,r*-e,j ail that thrilled about turning o v » t *!:»• bail to *om»aged b u pointe tor Michigan in a freshman over-ny ped freshman *** *he% didn't He lo*t season interrupted by a knee injury He w.a> most ut hi* confidence and ai! ■*[ hi* shooting injured again as a sophomore and spt-m the •ouch and. two years ia v r ‘na* vet to regain majority of his season wearing street clothe* *-it her on the bench.

Kobe Bryant quite j)o**ibiv will flop in the Reason No. 3: Samak! Walker When N B A but hr is smart enough ?•« know it pas* questions were raised about how Walker better than flopping in college came to be driving a particular automobile. he was held out of competition until doubt* Parting shots about his eligibility to compete at L u d v ille At Mississippi stairjward* banquet, a were resolved. couple ot players were h« tor academic By the ume th*- NX .AA determined he had achievement. and coach Richard W illiam * done nothing wrong, he had missed more ^-hen joked that the academic award tor Donthan a third of hi* sophomore season N«. *a« .lime*— who quit *c’nooi aimo*t a* *onn a* pay— and po play What a deal the Final Four ended— wa* in the mali • Reason No. 2: Dontomo Wingfield Atter erne* found 'hat *»> hiimorou* rn* high-fivert entering college ranked among the top fivW illiam * t lifted D e F u ii 'ophomon- J»*r prospects in the class of '93. Wingfield w.S' maine Waits w-^s thrown out -s hoo! alter be­ one of the best freshmen in the ing arre*ted for marijuana ><**»-*Nii)ii. which season He clearly was the tup player in th* continued coach J w y M e yrr - miserable luck Great Midwest Conference, good for rn with point guards It 'tarter! with Rod N n ck points and nine rebounds a game land leaving a year eari> tor the pro* B J He was also kind of a problem, frequent!\ Fvler rolled through th* program and quickiv benched or suspended by coach Bob Hug­ transferred out. then V e a z ie .t *tar at i'exa* gins for missing class or acting ornery In a Howard Nathan ran mn gram- problem*alter program as high-profile a* Cincinnati '. ? wa* me season Beiefia {'ark* wa>n * a* good a* hard to keep that w r e j Wingfield bolter1' i •.he others, but he wa*n * bac. except when if after that first year and wound up being oral? - . aine to the ti-ani rule* violation* that got nun ed in the second round Without h i' track tossed all**r the 199>94 *ea*on Form e' *. a1 record a* a Bearcat, might he have been :for ma forward I'femaine Fowlkes woo ap­ somebody'* No I ' pealed to a univer*it> panel •«. get hi* release, 9 Reason No. 1: Felipe L/ jh v Hou» u i* considering a tninsfer -o D-ppi-rdmr. <ikiaenamored the basketball world i* *»t Brvan; * . boma Mate or Fresno Man Fowlkes wa*n'! skills at this point, he i* no more :rre*Mii)i« -'intent playing a s u p p o r t s -..ie freshman than L)j>e/ was two year* ago Niareef Abxlur Kiihim ♦ A dynamic bo shooting guard. Felipe not M ik e f)e C o u rry c o r m college only built that big rep or hi*, he lived up to *t basketball for The C o m m e rcial Appeal in with M V F performances in the McDonald’* M em phis. Tenn

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THE CLOSER

F I R S T

The Sporting News

P E R S O N

Season in the sun It’s the 33-game winning streak— and their first championship— the Lakers remember most about the storied ’71-72 season

ward. and we win 33 straight g am es. We start on that roll and we start to gain co n fid en ce and g et to a level w here we pretty m uch know that when we walk out on th e cou rt, we’re going to find a way to win. .And in som e of th o se gam es, w e’re behind significantly, like by IS . IT. 1 3 .1 4 points. But we always win. i I don’t know exactly what the w in-streak record is before we b reak it. I think it wras 17 or 18. som ething like that. (T he actual record was 20 set by th e B u ck s Gail Goodrich, the leading scorer on the 1971-72 Lakers that won 33 during th e 70-71 season .) And we b reak it. We go about two m onths without consecutive games, 69 regular-season games and an NBA championship, losing a gam e. I think at that point, w hen w e’re 39-3, we have the sen se that we relives the glory o f that season with senior writer M ichael Knisley. are truly th e dom inant teajn that season . .After th e strea k , we lo se a couple of e ch anged our whole attack g am es, and we so rt of ju st finish out the philosophy that year, w hich seaso n . W e win 69. but that part of it is is why I think that team n ever a reco rd that anybody’ talks about worked so well together. Bill at th e tim e. It ju s t h appen s. I felt even S h a m a n co m es in to coach and asks Wilt b a ck then our team would always be r e C ham berlain to sacrifice individual hon­ m em b ered by our 33-gam e w inning o rs and sta tistics. W ilt b e c o m e s a re­ streak rath er than the 69 wins. Obviously, bounder. an intim idator, a passer. He now it will be. b ecau se th e B u lls have bro­ d oesn ’t sco re m uch, com pared to what he ken the regu lar-season reco rd . h as done in th e past. H e a v e ra g es 14.8 W e sw eep C h icago in th e first round of points a g am e, ju st from b ein g around. th e playoffs, and we b eat M ilw aukee 4-2 Probably for th e first tim e in h is life, the in th e n ex t round. B u t we lo se th e first o ffen se is not bein g directed toward him. g am e in th e F in als to th e K n ick s in Los We b eco m e a running team . J e r r y West A ngeles. It’s a little scary, b ecau se no one leads th e leag u e in a ssists and averages on our team , e x ce p t for W ilt, h a s ever 25.8 points per gam e. I have my b est year won an N BA cham pionship. And th en we v ee Jim M c M illa n , who steps into Elgin g et blow n out by th e K n ick s in th e first B a y lo r s position w hen Elgin re tire s after g am e. W e give up our h o m e < o u rt advan­ nine g a m es, adds a g re a t dim ension in tage, and i t s a real wakeup call. that we have a pow er forw’ard wtio can be W e fully e x p e c t to win th e ch am p i­ a defensive stopper. Happy H airston has onship, so that lo ss ja r s us. It’s like this m o re than 1.000 rebou nd s. H e’s th e best year. If th e B u lls don ’t win th e ch am p i­ o ffen siv e-reb o u n d in g forw ard in the onship, they TI b e rem em b ered as a team gam e. that won 72 g a m es and did not win the ti­ W e have a v ersatile b en ch . We have tle. I don’t think they’ want to be rem em ­ Flynn Robinson com in g in. who can light bered that way. If we had lost the ch am ­ it up. Keith E rick so n , when h e's healthy, pionship that year, it would have b een gives us a fo rw ard /g u ard defensive play­ said. “Y eah . you won 33 straig h t, but er. LeRoy Ellis at a fo rw ard /c e n te r posi­ th o se L a k e rs n ev er won a title.** F o rtu ­ tion giv es W ilt so m e help. Pat Riley nately, we win th e n ext four g am es. co m e s in as a fourth guard and gives us W e have two of th e all-tim e g re a te st so m e good play. I m ean, we have good players on that team , so we really have ben ch stren g th and flexibility. two le a d e rs— J e r r y from th e b a ck co u rt I don't think W ilts adjustm ent was a and W ilt. J e r r y and W ilt can take the stru g g le at all. I think W ilt. for one reason g am e to a h ig h e r level w?h en it n eed s to or another, had been criticized in the past b e taken th e re. In that se n se . Jo rd an and for not bein g on a winning team — outside Pippen do th e sam e thing with C hicago. of Philadelphia, that is. T hat Philadelphia „ I’m not goin g to com pare team s, b ecau se team he was on in 196tr67 was just a great I I don’t think it can b e done; but that’s one team . But in a lot o f o th e r c a s e s . Wilt | ch a ra cte ristic that both team s have. T h e didn’t have th e p layers to com p lem ent | real lead er for u s is Sh arm an . I t s his him . so I think he was unjustly criticized. £ team . He know s how to coach superstars.

You kn o w . Boston always had a lot of play­ | and so m etim es that isn ’t easy. e rs. I m ean, they had Bill R u ssell, but I T h e n ext se a so n , J e r r y g e ts h u rt. We they had a lot o f o th er players, too.

Goodrich, good yea: Despite being named all-NBA two seasons later, the Lakers still m anage 60 wins. but th e K n icks beat So w hen Sh arm an c o m e s in. he in sti­ guard recalls 1971-72 as his best season because it was his first and only SBA title. u s in th e Finals. If J e r r y doesn't get h u r t tu tes th e se ch a n g e s. He wants to do the I really believe we go b a ck to b ack . Bu t things he found to be su ccessfu l as a player in Boston. He introduces the mornjwhen h e ’s out, we can ’t com pete. ing sh ootarou n d . for in stan ce, which is really a ch an g e in W ilt’s lifestyle. But ' J e r r y re tire s after th e 7 3 -7 4 seaso n . T h a t's w hen I m ake the All-NBA team .

Wilt ju st says. “O K. let's my it.*' .And he never m isses a shootaround. T h e whole j not the year we win th e cham pionship. M y sco rin g average is about the sam e seaso n , he never m isse s a single shootaround. in both seaso n s, but my best seaso n . I truly believe, is th e season we win the title. I t s th eir aw^ard. Bu t if you ask m e, in my opinion, I think that’s th e b est We get oft to a good start and ev ery th in g seem s to be clickin g, and W ilt is y ear I had. E v ery th in g con sid ered . + happy as hell. I think W ilt realizes early as we play m ore and m ore to g eth er

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that w e're g o in g to be som eth in g special.

We start the seaso n b o T h en Elgin re tire s and M cM illian step s in at for-

G ail Goodrich, who was scheduled to be inducted into the H all o f F am e Monday. is a vier president o f N ational G olf Properties in Greenwich. Conn.

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