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The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, March 9, 2000
BASEBALL
Sports
500th home run ball sold to sports collector
ST. LOUIS — Mark McGwire's 500th home run ball has been sold to a sports memorabilia collector.
Michael Barnes, the agent who sold the ball, said yesterday that the buyer is a well-known collector who thought that the ball is one of the most valuable ever hit. Barnes didn't reveal the price.
McGwire hit his 500th homer on Aug. 5 in a 10-3 loss to the San Diego Padres.
McGwire made it to 500 in 5,487 atbats,
breaking Babe Ruth's record of 5,801. Jim
Shearer, a 28-year-old St. Louis architect,
survived a mad crumble at Busch Stadium
to retrieve the ball.
Barnes, president of One-of-a-Kind Auctions in Festus, offered $100,000 before last season to any fan catching McGwire's 500th. The $100,000 was an advance on what the ball might bring at an auction.
After hitting his 500th home run, McGwire said the bat he used to hit it would be donated to the Hall of Fame. He had hoped to see the ball join it. McGwire has said he thinks the items are historical and should not be sold.
Smoltz out for the season will have elbow surgery
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — John Smoltz will have surgery March 23 to repair a torn medial collateral ligament in his right elbow. The Atlanta Braves right-hander is expected to miss the season.
Smoltz had pain in the elbow in his only spring outing, when he allowed three runs and five hits on Sunday against Tampa Bay.
"The last five days have been the worst for me," Smoltz said yesterday. "Just not knowing, trying a lot of things trying to get ready for the season. And then after that game, for about a five-hour period, I felt pretty bad."
Smoltz said his elbow felt better Monday, but the Braves decided to check it out. He had an MRI, and the results Tuesday night indicated that surgery was necessary.
"I'm actually more positive than I thought because, after not knowing what's going on, I know what I can do now," said Smoltz, who indicated after rehab he should be able to pitch another three or four years.
He was on the disabled list twice last season with a strained right elbow. He finished 11-8 with a 3.19 ERA in 29 starts.
"What we'll do is examine who we have here, evaluate who we have here, evaluate how comfortable we feel with how we make things work in John's absence," said Braves general manager John Schertolz. "Then we'll decide whether or not we look outside the organization."
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Iowa State's Fizer voted Big 12 player of the year
AMES, Iowa — When Marcus Fizer,
changed, so did Iowa State's fortune
Fizer went from a player who merely scored to a player who scored and helped his team win.
And his reward - he was the unanimous choice by a media panel as The Associated Press Big 12 player of the year.
Powerfully built at 6-feet-8 and 265 pounds but fast and agile, Fizer led Iowa State to its first conference championship in 55 years and was brilliant down the stretch.
"He is the most difficult guy in the league to guard," said Kansas coach Roy Williams. "He gets everybody in foul trouble and scores as well."
Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson agreed with Williams.
"Holy smokes," Sampson said when Fizer's name was brought up. "That kid is a monster."
Iowa State's Jamaal Tinsley, a point guard who was critical in the Cyclones' title run, was named the league's newcomer of the year. Texas A&M's Bernard King was chosen as freshman of the year.
Tinsley received all but one of the 24 votes for the newcomer award. The other went to Nebraska's Kimani Friend.
King received 14 votes, Missouri's Kareem Rush had six and Nick Collison of Kansas received four.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Colorado wide receiver misses court date, arrested
BOULDER, Colo. — Colorado wide receiver Javon Green was arrested for missing court appearances in two misdemeanor cases, marking his second arrest in weeks.
Green, Colorado's leading receiver last fall as a junior, was arrested Monday night following a traffic stop after officers discovered he had two outstanding warrants for his arrest.
He allegedly failed to appear in court on a theft charge under $100, and he also allegedly didn't show up in court on a charge of driving with a suspended or revoked California driver's license.
Green was issued two summonses and released from Boulder County Jail pending court appearances later this month.
Colorado coach Gary Barnett said Green would be allowed to participate in spring practice, which begins Saturday, unless something else happened. He also said Green's problems should not be a distraction to the team.
Last week, junior Damion Barton was charged with felony menacing, false imprisonment and third-degree assault after he allegedly cut his pregnant wife's hair with scissors.
Two other football players, Andy Peeke and John Minardi, were also arrested in December for felony theft after taking a bike they thought belonged to a friend. Peeke, a backup linebacker, and Minardi, a wide receiver, each received a one-year deferred sentence in January and were ordered to perform 48 hours of community service.
sors and pinned her down during an argument. He has been suspended for spring practice and Colorado's opening game this fall.
Mavericks release Rodman after a month with the team
NBA
DALLAS — Dennis Rodman needed less than a month to wear out his welcome in Dallas.
The Mavicks gave up on their biggest drawing card yesterday, giving him his release hours after he lashed out against owner-in-waiting Mark Cuban.
Rodman's recent leave could mark the end of the line for the most-pierced, most-tattooed player in league history.
The team, which announced the move on its Web site before issuing a statement, said it would not comment until this morning.
The Associated Press
Sports Calendar
Baseball at Texas at 6:30 p.m. in Austin, Texas
Track and Field NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
Baseball vs Texas at 2 p.m. in Austin, Texas Track & Field NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Big 12 men's and women's basketball tournaments in Kansas City, Mo.
Commentary
Baseball vs Texas at 1 p.m. in Austin, Texas Big 12 men's and women's basketball tournaments in Kansas City, Mo.
Women's tennis vs.
Minnesota at 11 a.m.
To Griffey, money isn't everything
Finally, someone in the world of professional sports did something that wasn't about money.
Last month,
Ken Griffey Jr.
signed a $116.5
million nine-year
contract with
the Cincinnati Reds.
Griffey was traced
to the Reds after months of
speculation about where he would end up following his publicized urge to play for someone
Jason Walker
sports@kansan.com
other than the Seattle Mariners
Now I know that $116.5 million isn't exactly going to make Griffey's kids starve. It's more money than most people will ever have in their lives.
But the fact is, Griffey could have made a lot more somewhere else. It has been reported that the amount he signed for is about half of his market value. He is arguably the best player in baseball and is in the prime of his career. His old team, the Mariners, offered him an eight-year, $135 million contract to stay in Seattle.
But he didn't want to play anywhere else.
You see, Griffey grew up in Cincinnati. He grew up watching his father, Ken Griffey Sr., become a star on the Big Red Machine teams of the '70s. Ken Sr. is currently a coach for the Reds.
This is a dream job for 'The Kid.' He will get to finish his career in his hometown, under the watchful eye of his father. He gets to join a team that was one win away from the playoffs last season and has a much better chance of winning a championship than the outstandingly average Mariners club he left behind.
But this trade doesn't only benefit the Reds and Griffey, it benefits baseball. Griffey joins fellow slug-
gers Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs and Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central, making this the best offensive division in baseball.
That means that this year the Reds will play a total of 24 games against either the Cubs or the Cardinals. You think a Griffey-Big Mac showdown won't spark a few taters? McGwire and Sosa have proven in the last two years that each other's play motivates the other to hit more home runs. Now, there's a third bomber in the mix. Exciting stuff. This could be the most exciting summer of baseball we've seen in a long time.
But the best thing about Griffey's signing is that he didn't follow the money. He was courted heavily by the Atlanta Braves, a perennial World Series letdown that with Griffey could probably be one of the greatest team ever.
He could have made a lot more money in Atlanta, too. It's no telling how many other teams would have made Griffie lucrative offers to join their roster, were it not for his desire to play in Cincinnati.
It sure is comforting to see a great athlete like Griffey follow his heart instead of his bank account. In fact, it makes you wonder why more athletes don't do the same. Wouldn't most people rather make less money in a job they love than more in one they hate?
Junior has made history ever since he was a 19-year-old rookie in 1989. He started his career playing center field next to his father in right field. He became the fastest player in history to hit 400 home runs and is on pace to shatter Hank Aaron's record of 755. Last year, at age 30, he was named to baseball's all-century team along with legends like Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.
And it all couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
Walker is a Mulvane junior in journalism.
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McNAIR SCHOLARS PROGRAM
Now Accepting applications for Fall 2000. Application Deadline: April 14, 2000.
The McNair Scholars program prepares undergraduates, beginning in their junior year, for graduate study and eventual careers in university teaching and research.
Required Program Qualifications:
3. 0 or greater cumulative GPA
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AND EITHER
- A first-generation college student from a low income family
family
- A member of a group underrepresented in graduate education (African American, Native American, Hispanic)
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www.soe.ukans.edu/aep/mcnair
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University of Kansas
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