University Daily Kansan / Thursday, October 26, 1989
Sports
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Committee formed to find NFL commissioner
The Associated Press
CLEVELAND — Yet another committee was created yesterday in an attempt to end a stalemate concerning the selection of a new NFL commissioner.
This one is a five-member group that pits the principal antagonists in the dispute in a face-to-face confrontation.
The committee was formed after an evening meeting of $1\frac{1}{2}$ hours that brought representatives of two teams winging all the way back from the West Coast. They will be asked to present the owners with a unanimous choice of one of the two candidates — Jim Finks or Paul Tagliabue — by Wednesday, when yet another meeting is scheduled in Dallas.
The committee will be chaired by Pittsburgh's Dan Rooney, one of the few neutrals left in a league that has split into two blocs, more or less along the lines of seniority in the
league. A certified member of the league's "Old Guard," Rooney was originally for Finks, then abstained and finally voted for Tadik.
But the other four of the new group, who Commissioner Pete Rozelle conceded were the principals in the stalemate that has blocked the election of his successor in about 50 hours of debate, were decided not neutral.
On the other side is Patrick Bowlen of Denver and Mike Lynn of Minnesota, two of the hardline members of the group that blocked Finks' election in July when it seemed all but certain.
On one side are Wellington Mara of the New York Giants and Art Modell of Cleveland, both launch Finki supporters who have borne the brunt of the resentment from the newer owners.
The five met late into the night and were to reconvene this morning.
There was one vote taken yesterday in 6½ hours of meetings. Taglabus, the NFL's Washington lawyer and one of Rozeille's top aides, received 15 votes. Finks, the president of the New Orleans Saints, received 11. Nineteen are needed for election.
Rozelle said there was a slight but unlikely chance they would have a recommendation by
then.
But the real division is 12-11-5, with 12 for Tagilabue, 11 for Finks and five, including Rooney, in a group that could float either way. The new committee will be the third to try to
Then, around 2:30 p.m., the meeting was adjourned for five hours so representatives of the San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Raiders could return.
The first, which included Rooney, Modell and Mara, recommended Finks and only Finks although Tagliabue also was among the finalists. But a group that included Lynn and Bowlen among its leaders managed to get 11
votes that blocked Finks' election on July 6.
votes that blocked Finks' election on July 6.
A second committee, which included Mara and Lynn, then recommended four finalists, including the owner when the owners voted on the four in Dallas, it came out 12-13 with two abstentions, one of them from Rooney.
"We felt that with five people, it would be easier to reach a solution than with 28," Rozelle said.
Now comes the new committee, whose recommendation must be unanimous. Then the owners would vote with 19 still needed to elect a successor to Roselle.
This unique solution was yet another tab a trying to reak a stalemate that every minute was becoming more and more like the one that ended with 33-year-old Rozelle, then the general manager of the Los Angeles Rams, getting the job in 1980 as a compromise candidate after 23 ballots in 11 days.
All-star selection for Shaw KU pitcher will get to play against best
By Dan Perkins Kansan sportswriter
Kansan sportswriter
Pitcher Curtis Shaw is still being rewarded for his performance last season on the Jayhawk baseball team.
Shaw is one of 20 amateur baseball players who will represent the United States at the second annual International Baseball Association Presidential Cup Tournament in Taiwan.
"I was shocked at first," Shaw said. "I didn't even know they were considering me."
"It's a tremendous honor for Curtis," Coach Dave Bingham said. "It's like Mark Randall participating in the World University games. It's the same type of U.S. all-star team."
Shaw was a first team all-Big Eight selection last year with a 6-3 record and a 3.96 earned run average.
"Obviously, it is a great honor for me and for the university. It will be a great honor to play with that caliber of players. I'll be pitching against some of the best pitches in the world as well as with some of the best players in the United States. It's bound to rub off some."
"I will be a relief pitcher like Iwa for Kansas last season, so I should get the opportunity to pitch," Shaw said.
Tomas Staroardter/KANSAN
Bingham said the exposure that Shaw would get also would help the Kansas program.
"Anytime you have someone of
your size, helps the program."
Bingham said.
Curtis Shaw will compete as a reliever for the U.S. team in Taiwan.
Shaw said he'll leave at 2 p.m. today to fly to Los Angeles and the team will leave for Taiwan on Saturday.
Pitchers Kevin King of Oklahoma and Mike Myers of Iowa State also were selected to the team, which will beached by Jim Morris of Georgia Tech.
The round-robin tournament will include teams from Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Taiwan, as well as the U.S. team.
Each team in the tournament will
CHICAGO — Gale Sayers' son and another teen-ager yesterday were charged in an arson attempt at the South Side school they attend, authorities said.
Sayers' son charged in arson case
There was no "substantive damage" to the science room, according to school principal Walter Parker.
Timothy Sayers, 17, was seen running from Kenwood Academy with his clothes on fire after school on Tuesday and school staff later indicted that someone had attempted to access a science room, authorities said.
Sayers was in fair condition at Cook County Hospital, and hospital spokesman Sudi Gray, who worked with Sayers, had visited his son at the hospital.
Timothy Sayers suffered first- and second-degree burns over 7 percent of his body, said another spokesman, Wanda Robertson.
The Associated Press
play each other once, with the top four teams competing in a medal round on Nov. 12.
The Kansas volleyball team doubled its number of victories compared with last year with a victory last night against Missouri in Columbia, 15-11, 6-15, 7-12, 12-15, 15-11.
The U.S. team will play seven games in eight days, beginning with Michigan on Wednesday.
Kansas improved to 10-12 overall and 2-5 in the Big Eight Conference
Missouri is 4-17 overall and 0-6 in the Big Eight.
Jayhawk volleyball spikes Missouri
Last year, the Jayhawks finished
5-24.
with the victory. Both Big Eight victories came against Missouri.
11 teams clinch spot in World Cup finals
The Associated Press
LONDON — Sweden, Belgium and South Korea clinched spots yesterday in the 1990 World Cup soccer finals, bringing to 11 the number of nations that have qualified for the 24-team tournament.
A penalty kick by Peter Larsen in the 35th minute and a goal by Johnny Ekstrom in the 60th minute led Sweden to its victory at Poland, making the Swedes champions of Europe's qualifying Group 2.
Sweden and South Korea both scored 2-0 victories away from home to secure their places in the finals in Italy, while Belgium clinched a spot by struggling to a tie at home against Luxembourg.
In Singapore, Hwang Bo-kwan scored just before halftime and Hwang Seon-hong added a second goal in the closing minutes as South Korea defeated Saudi Arabia and became the first of two teams to qualify from Asia.
Luxembourg scored its first goal against neighboring Belgium since World War II as it managed a 1-1 tie in Brussels. Instead of celebrating, Belgian fans booed and whistled as their team struggled against a Luxembourg team consisting mostly of part-time players.
Luxembourg had been outscored in the previous Group 7 qualifying matches.
The English still qualify because they are assured of being one of the two best second-place teams among nations in the four-team groups. But their position behind Sweden in the group might complicate matters for officials of FIFA, the international amateur soccer federation.
in other World Cup qualifying games yesterday, Turkey kept alive
FIFA officials had wanted to make England one of six seeded teams and send it to the island of Sardinia for the first round, keeping English fans off the Italian mainland as long as possible.
Though England clinched its spot two weeks ago with a scoreless tie in Poland, the Swedish victory yester-bournd place in the four-town Group 2.
Other teams that have qualified for soccer's quadrennial world championship are Brazil, Costa Rica and Uruguay from the Americas; England, Spain and Yugoslavia from Europe; Italy as the host; and Argentina as the defending champion.
its chances of advancing to the finals for the first time since 1964 by winning 3-0 at home against Austria in a Group 3 match.
Czechoslovakia defeated Switzerland 3-0 in Prague in a Group 7 contest, improving its chances of joining Belgium in the finals. Two teams will qualify from the group, and Czechoslovakia could clinch a place Nov. 15 in their final match.
Czechoslovakia would secure the spot by winning, tying or losing by less than a quarter.
AGEE ACTIVATED: Running back Tommie Agee was activated by the Kansas City Chiefs yesterday, and linebacker Mike Junkin and wide receiver Robb Thomas were put on injure reserve.
Sport briefs
The Chiefs also said they planned to activate linebacker Stacy Harvey from the developmental squad and sign rookie running back Bill Jones to that squad.
Agee, 25, spent the first six weeks on injured reserve after undergoing surgery to repair ligaments in his finger. He was injured in the third preseason game at Chicago.
Junkin suffered a shoulder injury while Thomas suffered a dislocated shoulder last Sunday. Both will be out at least six weeks.
Agee, a fifth-round draft choice of Seattle in 1987, was acquired by the Chiefs as a Plan B free agent.
Harvey was signed to the developmental squad Sept. 20 after he won a gold medal in his division.
Jones, a 12th round draft choice of the Chiefs this year, was waived Aug. 30.
caused postponement of his scheduled Nov. 18 title fight against Donovan "Razor" Ruddock.
TYSON KNOCKED OUT: An illness similar to pneumonia felled heavy-weight champion Mike Tyson and
Stevenson said the bout would be rescheduled as early as possible and would likely be conducted in January.
Tyson, scheduled to leave Edmonton and return to Las Vegas, is expected to need at least four weeks to recuperate.
Gerhardt Solbach, the physician for the Edmonton Boxing and Wrestling Commission, confirmed the diagnosis and said the aliment is similar to pleurisy, an inflammation of the lining that envelopes the lungs.
Don King, Tyson's promoter, said the fighter held a sparring session on Friday when he was open to the media and another workout on Friday that was closed.
"He looked lethargic; he didn't look himself," King said. "In Saturday's workout, he was getting hurt and was not improving."
KU netter will play in tourney
By Andres Caveller Kansan sportswriter
A year ago, the collegiate tennis nationals didn't mean much for Dutch tennis player Eveline Hamers, who had just arrived in the United States to play for Kansas.
But Hamers, now a sophomore, said that this year the nationals had more meaning for her because she wanted to keep her ranking. She is fifth in the nation in the preseason. Volvo Tennis collegiate rankings.
Last year she was the first Kansas women's player ever to enter the tournament, which begins today and runs through Oct. 29.
The event is the first leg of the Collegiate Grand Slam and is a key tournament on the women's fall collegiate schedule.
Hamers, named last year as a Volvo Tennis/All-American, was selected earlier this month to play in the singles draw of the Riviera All-American Championships in Los Angeles.
Hamers said she was ready for the tournament, although it was her first national meet of the fall.
"I'm not afraid to play anybody," she said. "I always so for it."
Hamers said she and Coach Michael Center had been working on a new, stronger serve that would help her avoid double faults.
Center said that the serve would add a new dimension to her game and that it would be a weapon for her.
He also said Hamers had picked up her momentum despite starting the season slowly.
But she has already started the season on the right foot. On Oct. 15, she won the Hoosier Converse Classic, a six-team tournament in Bloomington, Ind.
"Physically and mentally, her capabilities are as good as anybody in the country playing at this level." Center said. "I'm hoping she believes she has the opportunity to play through the main draw. She is going to gain a lot of confidence."
Scott Perelman, director of tennis, said Hamers was as fine a player as the Kansas program ever had.
"She is a big-time player," he said. "She is a good person and could be an outstanding leader. She gives our program credibility."
The singles event of the Riviera Championships is a 32-player tournament, including 17 of the 20 topranked players in the country. Hamers is one of three players selected from the central region, one of eight regions in the country.
Hamers will play her first match today at 9 a.m. against Danielle Scott of Arizona, who is ranked 33rd and is one of the eight players who gained entrance to the main draw by way of the main qualifier.
Last year, Hamers won in the first round of the main qualifier before losing in the second round to Krista Amend of Arizona. 6-7, 6-3, 6-1.
Hamers has participated in many prominent tournaments. In 1987, she won the Netherlands' women's national championships and finished the year ranked fourth in the Netherlands.
While playing for Kansas as a freshman, she qualified for the National Clay Courts Championships in Hilton Head, S.C., where she won two matches before being eliminated by No. 1-ranked Shawn Foltz of Indiana.
Hamers last year became the highest-ranked Kansas women's player ever as she entered the spring competition 24th in the Volvo rankings.
Scooter will know soon if he'll don the Celtic green
By Paula Parrish
Kansan sportswriter
The clock is running down for Scooter Barry as he tries to prove that he is worthy to wear the uniform of a Boston Celtie.
Barry, a former Kansas guard and member of the 1988 championship team, has been playing with the Boston Celtics for the last month after winning the season, hoping he will be awarded a position on the team's season roster.
Barry said he would probably find out Monday if he would get one of the 12 spots that were available. Three teams are vying for positions on the team
Barry attended the Celtics' rookie camp in July and August and was asked to attend the veterans' camp this fall to participate in the exhibition games.
Barry signed a contract with the
Celtics, but it only will become validated if he is chosen for the team.
Although the experience with veteran players such as Larry Bird and Kevin McHale has been rewarding, he has been playing as well as be could.
"I'm not real played with the way I've played," Barry said. "I've not played the best that Scooter Barry can play."
After five exhibitions, Barry has substituted in two games for a total of 8 minutes, averaging two points a game.
“It’s hard to get into the flow of the game really quickly in situations like that,” Barry said. “I think the biggest thing with me is that I lack the courage I need. I just trying to soak up everything I’m learning.”
But Barry said he didn't think his chances at making the team depended solely on his limited game
Scooter Barry
time.
Barry said playing for the Celtics was much different than playing for Kansas coach Roy Williams.
"I haven't had a lot of court time, but the coaches can see the effort I'm putting at artistry," Barry said. "You have to prove yourself in a short amount of time."
"Last year, Coach Williams gave me so much confidence in myself," he said. "Now, I have to develop my own confidence."
Besides less playing time, there are a few other slight disadvantages with which rookies on the team have to deal, including the veterans' own form of initiation.
Barry said that when the team ran out on the court for the first exhibition game, the rookies lined up at the front.
"When they ran out, the veterans would stop at the lnc and let the
"They are always trying to catch you when you're not looking." Barry said. "If you ask them what time the bus leaves and it leaves at 9, they'll say. 'Be sure to get to the bus at 1 o'clock.'"
rookies stand out there on the court in front of the crowd all by themselves," he said, laughing. "It could be really embarrassing."
But Barry has managed to avoid being embarrassed.
But Barry said that, for the most part, the players were friendly and that' the atmosphere surrounding professional basketball was a lot different from college basketball.
"The attitude is very relaxed," he said. "These guys play 62 games a year, but they are not worried about winning every time they step out on the court. They expect to win every game, just like at Kanasa."
Two of the Celtics five exhibition games were against the San Antonio Spurs and Larry Brown, Barry's former coach, with whom Barry spoke briefly. Brown coached Kansas to a national championship in 1988.
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