Section B·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Tuesday. October 17, 2000
BUILDING AN INTELLIGENT PORTFOLIO
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Heat star battles kidney ailment
The Associated Press
MIAMI — A common but serious kidney ailment will keep Alonzo Mourning sidelined for the entire season, depriving the Miami Heat of their biggest star and the key to their quest for an NBA title.
Doctors said Monday that the illness, first spotted just after Mourning helped the U.S. team to the basketball gold medal earlier this month, was focal glomerulosclerosis, which leads to kidney failure in about half the cases.
They said there were no immediate plans for a kidney transplant or dialysis.
"I feel great right now. We've pretty much got a hold on it, the whole situation right now." Mourning said at a news conference in which he discussed his aliment publicly for the first time. "The main objective is to get me healthy so I can live my life normally, so I can see my babies grow up, and so I can enjoy my family.
"And, at the same time, possibly do the things that I know and love
— and that's the game of basketball. But the key right now is to get me healthy."
Pat Rilev. the Heat coach who
spent the offseason signing free agents and redesigning the team to complement Mourning's talents, said his star center was following the proper course.
"Alonzo Mourning will not be playing professional basketball this season, and we're totally convinced that the only thing that should be on his mind is getting healthy." Riley said.
The 30-year-old center made his first public appearance since Oct. 3, when he attended the team's media day. Training camp began without him the following day, and he has not practiced because of his condition, which was discovered during a routine physical two weeks ago.
Dr. Gerald Appel, of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York, said the disease causes the kidneys to leak protein into a person's urine. Without treatment, filters in the kidneys eventually become scarred, cease to function and a transplant is needed.
The origin of Mourning's condition is unknown. Some forms of the disease may be more common in African-Americans, but the statistics aren't clear, said Columbia kidney specialist Dr. Leonard Stern.
Mourning will be placed on a six-month treatment trial. He will take medication in hope of reducing the swelling in his lower body, stopping the kidneys from leaking proteins and controlling his blood pressure and cholesterol levels. He also will follow a strict low-sodium diet.
The drugs cause side effects, Riley said, which would make strenuous exercise unsafe.
"He wants to play, but he can't." Rilev said. "He's not that sturid."
But even with treatment, about 50 percent of cases develop chronic renal failure, Appel said. The kidney disease used to be the fourth-largest cause of death in the United States.
He was expected to lead a revamped Miami team widely considered to be the favorite to win the Eastern Conference. Without Mourning, the outlook would change drastically.
Mourning finished third in voting for the NBA's Most Valuable Player last season, when he averaged 21.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game. He has missed only seven games the past two seasons.
Soccer league seeking larger audience
The Associated Press
the future."
WASHINGTON — Each year, Major League Soccer tinkers with its product, trying to make itself more popular. Each year, the result has been the same: attendance down slightly, profits nowhere to be seen.
After five years, the league is pretty much where it began. There's a solid corps of fans and several committed investors, but they don't seem to be growing. An impressive neutral-site crowd of 39,159 watched Kansas City's 1-0 victory over Chicago in the championship game, for most of the United States the event was at best a footnote on an NFL Sunday.
"I am disappointed that our attendance did not increase," said commissioner Don Garber, citing the small drop in the leaguewide average from 14,282 to 13,756. "This is a major focus for us, and we must show increased numbers in
After trying a few gimmicks to Americanize the sport, this was a back-to-basics year for MLS. Shootouts were eliminated; a game could actually end in a tie. The official time was kept on the field and not on the scoreboard, the way it's done by the rest of the world.
Aging European superstars Lothar Mattheae and Hristo Stoitchkov joined the league, while younger and younger American players were recruited through the Project 40 rule, which offers incentives for postponing college. Bobby Convey became a regular starter for D.C. United at 16.
"The level of play has been tremendous this season," said Kansas City city goalkeeper Tony Meola, who won the MVP awards for both the regular season and the MLS Cup title game. "If we bring in half the players next year that we did this year, the league's going to be unbelievable. If we continue
Next year, there will be more tinkering. The schedule will be reduced from 32 to 28 games, and this year's confusing playoff format might get an overhaul. More games will be on Saturdays, when attendance is best, and teams will have more time to schedule games in various international tournaments.
Such changes come too late for ABC, which is dropping four games from its six-game MLS package because of poor ratings. Ratings on ESPN were unchanged from 1999.
There is good news. The league has been able to retain its major sponsors and attract new ones. And while MLS hasn't attracted any new investors in recent years, the ones it has are deep-pocketed and promise to stay for the long haul, even though the league has lost a reported $100 million since its inception.
to do that, this will one day be the place everyone wants to play."