6B
Wednesday, October 9,1996
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tight end sharpens power
Broncos consider re-signing Sharpe after record game
The Associated Press
DENVER — If you produce in the NFL, you will be rewarded.
Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who considered trading four-time Pro Bowl tight end Shannon Sharpe before the season, said Sharpe earned some bargaining power Sunday in the final year of his four-year, $4 million contract.
Sharpe tied a franchise record with 13 receptions for 153 yards and three touchdowns in the Broncos' 28-17 victory against the San Diego Chargers.
The victory catapulted 5-1 Denver into sole possession of first place in the AFC West.
"He's producing," Shanahan said of Sharpe. "I'm going to do everything that I can after this season to get him signed."
Last April, Shanahan was considering a trade involving Sharpe and the Arizona Cardinals' defensive tackle, Eric Swann.
At the time, Sharpe sought a contract extension that reportedly included a $3 million signing bonus. Shanahan, however, believed Sharpe's 1996 salary cap of $1.45 million was competitive for franchise tight ends.
Consequently, Sharpe decided he would explore the free-agent market after this season.
"I didn't want Shannon to go because he's a guy that I've always felt played well, extremely well," Shanahan said.
Because the Broncos are idle this week, Sharpe scheduled minor surgery to have a nerve in his ankle frozen. Sharpe has battled ankle injuries during the past few seasons and has had a sore ankle since
the second game of the year.
Guard Mark Schlether underwent arthroscopic knee surgery early Monday to repair cartilage in his left knee. Linebacker John Mobley, running back Aaron Craver, defensive end Dan Williams and wide receiver Rod Smith, who have had injuries, are expected to be healthy when the Broncos play the Baltimore Ravens at home in two weeks.
Shanahan said the Broncos had tagged Sharpe as a transition player, meaning the Broncos reserve the right to match any offer made to him by other teams.
Shanahan said that negotiations with Sharpe had not begun.
"You hate to negotiate during the season," he said. "Right after the season is done, you negotiate."
"I think he likes it here," Shanah said.
Sharpe likes playing in Denver. Following the game Sunday, Sharpe said he hoped to finish his career in Denver.
Quarterback John Elway said he wouldn't let Sharpe go if he were in a position to make the decision.
Sharpe knows what his value is, Shanahan said. This is Sharpe's last year, and the team has its transition tag on him. If he wanted to go someplace, the team would have the chance to match his offer.
"In my opinion, he's the best tight end in the NFL," Elway said.
Shanahan echoed Elvay's remarks regarding Sharpe.
"He's really become a complete player," he said. "If you produce in this game, you get rewarded."
Safety waived after Dolphin loss
The Associated Press
DAVIE, Fla. — Gene Atkins, the poster boy for Miami Dolphins discontent last season, was waived the day after his mistakes resulted in two opposing touchdowns in a loss to Seattle.
Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson tried to downplay the move Monday, saying that he wanted to promote rookie Shawn Wooden and that Sunday's 22-15 loss to the Seahawks was not the fault of one player.
Still, Johnson sent a clear signal to his players.
"You do think about it, especially when something like this happens," said cornerback Calvin Jackson, who also played a part in the two touchdowns. "I think if you are smart, you would feed off it and get pointed in the right direction."
Johnson praised Atkins during the preseason, but Atkins' trouble in communicating play changes from the sidelines to his fellow defensive backs ended his career with the Dolphins.
Last season, Atkins argued with coach Don Shula during a game against New England, threatened to sit out if a teammate didn't start and plowed over a reporter watching practice because he disliked an article.
"No coach wants finger-pointing or animosity on their team," corner-back Terrell Buckley said. "I guess he felt it was time for a change."
Atkins' release was the second surprise move by Johnson in a week. He waived fullback-turned-kend tight end Kith Byars on Oct. 1.
Atkins left the team's training facility Monday without comment, but Johnson said the safety told him
his problems stemmed from last season.
"Our safeties have to be playmakers," Johnson said. "I feel bad about Gene. Gene was really giving a good effort. He just didn't fit into the system."
On Sunday, Attkins' miscues contributed to two of three long touchdown passes by Seattle's John Friesz, who was making his first start of the season.
Jimmy Johnson
Miami led 15-14 with 2:03 left when Friesz connected with Brian Blades for an 80-yard touchdown. Atkins was supposed to be helping cornerback Calvin Jackson on the coverage.
"Obviously, you would like the free safety to make the play on the crossing route," Johnson said. "Our free safety has to be an aware guy."
Johnson said Atkins also had the same communications breakdown in the Dolphins' 36-27 victory against the New York Jets on Sept. 23, resulting in a touchdown.
Wooden won the starting position from Atkins in the preseason but has been sidelined because of a neck injury since August. The rookie from Notre Dame was told he would start Sunday against Buffalo.
Atkins, a 10-year pro out of Florida A&M, came to Miami in 1949 after seven seasons with New Orleans. In 1995, he started the first 10 games before a blowup with Shula.
"I was all happy; then I heard Gene was cut," Wooden said. "I'll miss him. He helped me a lot."
Yankee fans plot for Oriole spitter
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Welcome to the Bronx, Robbie Alomar. Here's your batting helmet. Keep it on.
Yankee Stadium, not always the warmest venue for visiting players, could get ugly when Alomar and the Baltimore Orioles play the New York Yankees in the American League championship series.
The front page of yesterday's New York Post printed a picture of Alomar bordered in black, screaming the headline "N.Y.'s Most Wanted!"
Alomar has become a marked man after spitting in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck during the last weekend of the regular season. That action sent baseball into federal court twice during the division playoffs to keep the rest of the umpires working, and the incident touched off a fusilade of anger from fans and commentators across the country.
Alomar apologized, and Hirschcue urged that the affair be put behind them. But fans don't forget, especially in New York, where visitors have been afforded rough treatment before.
Authorities were bracing for Alomar's arrival in a ballpark where visiting first baseman Wally Joyner once was struck by a dinner knife as he walked toward the dugout.
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani suggested the Baltimore second baseman get the silent treatment from New York fans, an unlikely circumstance.
"Make it clear you don't acknowledge the fact that he's in the game," Giuliani said. "The fans in Cleveland during the division series turned their backs on him. They did the appropriate thing."
And what if the fans act up?
"We'll have lots of police, including plainclothesmen, on hand," Giuliani said. "If you think of throwing anything, as far as I'm concerned you're trying to kill somebody."
The Yankees were prepared for trouble.
"Obviously, we always take into consideration special circumstances, and there will be more than adequate security," team representative Rick Cerrone said.
Alomar's arrival was noted by radio station Z-100, which encouraged fans to spit into a flower vase-sized jar as a gift to the second baseman. Assistant producer Danielle Monaro said the collection was going slowly, with about 60 contributors so far.
"It's about up to the knuckle on your finger," she said. "We plan to have it delivered by a singing messenger."
The Texas-Yankees division playoff was relatively peaceful, although some fans decided to dump junk on Rangers right fielder Juan Gonzalez, who kept hitting home runs.
Baltimore right fielder Bobby Bonilla left New York last season after a stormy stay with the Mets, and he could be a secondary target for the Alomar fallout. Bonilla grew up in the Bronx. He knows all about the territory.
Reaching Alomar with garbage will be a tad more difficult because he plays second base, well removed from the stands. It should be pointed out, however, that some Yankee fans come equipped with good arms.
When manager Joe Torre went out to argue a call with a home plate umpire this season, he got hit in the back of the head by a peach pit hurled from the stands.
Cowboys' Irvin to return
And Torre is on their side.
Switzer hopes wide receiver gives Dallas winning edge but doesn't expect miracle
The Associated Press
IRVING, Texas — Contrary to popular belief, Michael Irvin's absence isn't the only reason the Dallas Cowboys have stumbled this season.
"I think we all have to realize that (having) Michael back is a tremendous lift to us, emotionally and talent-wise," Coach Barry Switzer said yesterday. "But if we continue to play the way we've been playing — making dumb mistakes — then Michael's presence doesn't help us."
So just because Troy Aikman's favorite target will be back for Sunday's home game against Arizona doesn't mean the Cowboys finally will start playing like defending Super Bowl champions.
Penalties and poor execution are the main reasons Dallas is 2-3 and last in the NFC East. Much of the sloppy play can be traced to backups filling in for injured or suspended starters or to people playing out of position to cover those same vacancies.
The offense has taken the biggest hit. The lack of a No. 1 receiving threat has allowed defenses to key on the run, making it more difficult for Emmuit Smith to find holes. Still, Dallas has been forced to put extra wear and tear on Smith and his aging line.
Irvin will change some of that, but not all.
Tight end Jay Novacek still is out with a bad back. and Kevin Williams has a broken foot.
Although the defense has done a good job carrying the team, it has had its share of problems.
The end of Shante Carver's suspension next week should help some, as will Charles Haley's return from his doctor-imposed hiatus to rest his ailing back. He's expected to return a week from Sunday against Atlanta.
"We can look to the future and see we have help coming." Swisser said.
Even if Switzer wants to try downplaying it, Irvin's return is the first — and probably biggest— step.
Coming off his most productive season, Irvin is in the best shape of his life because of rugged conditioning drills during the free time he had after a soa opera-like off-season.
Not only is Irvin in good shape, but he also has been able to quickly regain his timing with Aikman.
With secondaries forced to key on Irvin, Deion Sanders probably will get less attention. Maybe now he can establish himself as the deep threat Dallas has lacked since Alvin Harper went to Tampa Bay last year.
"I've got to honestly say it's like he was there all year long," Switzer said. "I saw him yesterday go up about three feet off the ground, spread out with that big wing span, and with three defensive backs around him he just sucked in the ball. Kelvin Martin can't do that."
"I think it will be a great matchup to have those two guys together because I think Deion is improving," Switzer said. "I think both will complement each other."
The Associated Press
Oklahoma will face No.25 Longhorns with hopes to soon improve 0-4 record
NORMAN, Okla. — Victories may be lacking at Oklahoma, but confidence apparently is not.
From coach John Blake on down, the Sooners were upbeat yesterday as they met with the media to discuss this week's game against No. 25 Texas. Never mind that Oklahoma is 0-4 and a three-touchdown underdog to the Longhorns.
"As bad as it may seem, we might not have won a game right now, but this team has improved unbelievably," Blake said. "I'm truly excited about what's going on with this football team."
"We know what we can do if we perform right. We know the only reason we're 0-4 is because of us," defensive end Rod Manuel said.
Tight end Stephen Alexander said, "If we ever put it together, we're going to be dangerous."
The Sooners clearly have made progress since the opening week. The offense is moving the ball better, and the defense has improved. But mistakes continue to crop up.
Last week in their Big 12 opener against Kansas, the Sooners were doomed by poor special teams plays. Oklahoma had
"We have got to have players make those plays," he said. "Some guys are playmakers. Some players just go out there and just try to get the job done. Some cost you, and right now we're dealing with a little bit of all three."
A loss to Texas would leave Oklahoma 0-5 and match the worst start in school history. It also would stretch the Sooners' losing streak to eight games, dating to last season.
But Blake said the mounting losses were not resulting in added pressure for the staff or the players.
"If you look at just the won-loss record, they could be tremendously down," he said. "But they're looking at what's taking place inside this football team. These guys are coming together, they're playing, they're excited about scoring points. They're getting confident that they can
more than 500 yards of offense and limited June Henley to just 63 yards, but Kansas still won 52-24. Among other things, the Jayhawks scored on a kickoff return, a punt return and a blocked field goal.
There were other breakdowns as well, such as 16 penalties for 138 yards and a couple of missed interceptions. The only solution is to keep working, Blake said.
Blake expects to have all his players available Saturday. Tight end Stephen Alexander missed the Kansas game because of a shoulder injury but plans to start this week.
This marks the sixth time Oklahoma will enter the Texas game without a victory. The Sooners also were winless in 1933, '42, '53, '61 and '65.
- Oklahoma hasn't beaten Texas as an underdog since 1982, when the Longhorns were 3-point favorites.
"I think they're a great team. I think they did an outstanding job all year long. It doesn't change a thing."
SOONER NOTES:
Texas ended a two-game losing streak last week with a 71-14 victory against Oklahoma State in which the Longhorns gained 624 yards. Blake said that performance did nothing to change his opinion of Texas.
.
"We'll pull some games out. We'll win some football games, and when we do win 'em we'll know why we won 'em. It wasn't luck; it's hard work."
score points. Our defense is coming around, our young kids are playing better. Those are the things we're striving on right now.
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