SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY AUGUST 23,1994
SECTION B
Amy Solt / KANSAM
Construction workers are making repairs to the roof and sewer system of Allen Field House to meet new safety standards. The changes to the field house also have affected the placement of many athletic offices.
Field house gets renovated
BRIEFS
PITTSBURGH — Penguins owner Howard Baldwin, whose team was once promoted as the boys of winter, is again interested in buying Pittsburgh's boys of summer.
Baldwin will meet Thursday with city officials and apparently hopes to convince them he's serious about making another bid to buy the Pirates.
He initially approached the Pirates board of directors in February about buying the financially strapped team, but the board unanimously rejected his offer, reportedly worth $85 million.
Pittsburgh professional hockey owner offers price for Pirates
Pirates sources later said the offer was heavily leveraged, contained little up-front money and was worth considerably less than the reported amount in real dollars.
Since his preliminary bid was rejected, Baldwin has moved to bring in more capital — and more clout — by forming a Penguins advisory board that apparently also is consulting him about a possible Pirates bid.
Michael Keaton, the Pittsburgh-born actor best known for starring in the two Batman movies, is on the advisory board. A longtime Pirates fan, Keaton took part in the celebrity home-run hitters contest before the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh last month.
The city's meeting with Baldwin is its latest in a series of discussions with potential buvers.
Baldwin resurfaced Aug. 3 as a potential Pirates buyer when the board exercised its escape clause by putting the team up for sale.
"He's bringing in his attorney from Boston, so I guess that means business," Mark Pollock, special counsel to Mayor Tom Murphy, said Monday.
NEW YORK — Talks to resolve the baseball strike probably won't resume until tomorrow, union head Donald Fehr and management negotiator Richard Ravitch said.
Talks resume in baseball's strike
Both sides will meet Monday to set ground rules for the talks and today with federal mediators. Bargaining, which broke off when the strike began Aug. 12, will then resume with owners at the table for the first time since talks began on Jan. 13, 1993.
By Chesley Dohl Kansan staff writer
Allen Field House has aged nicely in its 40 years, hosting big games and capacity crowds.
LAS VEGAS — While UNLV basketball coach Rollie Massimino plans to stay, the university has no plans to pay him the remainder of nearly $2 million promised in a secret contract.
But now the field house is housing a 100-foot crane and 85 feet of scaffolding that spans the ceiling of the arena.
Massimino said Monday he intends to finish the remainder of his five-year contract at UNLV, and believes the university will pay him some $375,000 promised in a secret supplemental contract with former university officials.
Massimino says he will stay at UNLV
Work began in the field house in early June to install a $600,000 sprinkler system. The sprinkler system is slated to be finished by Sept. 3., but the project is running ahead of schedule.
The field house is in the process of receiving a $1.9 million facelift, which will add a fire- sprinkler system and an additional 500 seats.
But UNLV interim president Kenny Guinn emerged from an hour-long meeting with the basketball coach to say Massimino will be paid only his base salary of $511,000.
"The whole purpose of the project is to make Allen Field House a safer building in case of fire or emergency," said Darren Cook, director of facilities. "The changes will bring the 1955 building up to '90s safety codes."
The pipes are being checked for leaks and being welded now, so the system could be installed as
The cross astes will be eliminated and replaced with seating.
In addition to the sprinkler system, more than $1 million of construction to install seats and stairwells will be completed at the field house by Nov. 1.
early as the end of this week, Cook said.
Construction administrator Doug Riat said, "People won't be able to see a change from the outside and the changes are not significant yet. All the pipes in the roof were painted to match the ceiling so
"Right now when you walk into the field house you wouldn't notice a thing has changed," Cook said. "The sprinkler system was the first thing that needed to be completed in time for basketball season."
These changes include 500 additional seats in the second and third levels, an additional stairwell on the west side of the field house leading down to the track, a bridge link leading to the Parrpt Athletic Complex and four new stairwalls up in the bleacher area located in the very upper corners of the field house.
"There was an obvious concern voiced by city and state fire officials about the safety of the field house," Cook said. "Allen Field House is a building that is continually filled to capacity 15-16 times a year. When you fill this place up several times a year that's quite a liability."
"The seating and construction is underway and will be ready for the basketball season opener."
that's an interior change that will not be very noticeable. "
The main seating addition in the field house will be on the third floor in the aisle ways.
Outside the field house, contractors are working on installing a water pump system to increase water pressure in the field house to allow sufficient flow of water in case of a fire.
Alumnus aids Kansas golf
Golf tournament features network sports announcer
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
Teamwork and golf are two words that are not normally associated with each other. If Roger Twibell has anything to do with it, they soon will at the University of Kansas.
Twibell, who is a sports commentator for ABC Sports, was in Lawrence yesterday for the first Hawkers and Hackers Rock Chalk Golf Tournament. The event was conceived by Twibell to raise funds for both the men's and women's golf programs at Kansas.
"Whatever money we raise is being divided right down the middle," said Twibell, who graduated from Kansas. "This year the money being raised will go to team transportation."
Twibell said the idea for the fund raiser originated from the Team Championship, which is an annual tournament on the women's professional golf tour, the LPGA. Men from the professional tour are paired up for team competition in the tournament with women from the LPGA.
"That's where I got the thought that maybe what we'll do is put the men and the women together in one tournament." Twibell said.
Upon his arrival, Twibell immediately worked on his goal of becoming an announcer. One of his instructors, Tom Hedrick, still teaches broadcasting at Kansas, and another, Gary Bender, has worked for ABC and now does commentary for Turner Broadcasting System.
At the heart of Twibell's concern for helping the golf program is his love for Kansas. He completed his first two years of college at the University of Arizona, where he played football and baseball. When an injury ended his sports career, he returned to his home state and transferred to Kansas.
"I had some good people to learn from." Twibell said.
Twibell has realized just how good the radio-television journalism program at Kansas is since he entered the work force. He continues to meet Kansas graduates at various television networks.
"I would say there be schools that turn out more people, but — and I'm probably prejudiced — we turn out more quality people," he said.
Since his graduation, Twibell worked eight years for ESPN before moving to ABC, where he has been for six years.
"He has a lot of exposure in the sports world today," women's golf coach Jerry Waugh said.
Jay Thornton / KANSAN
Twibell has covered many sports during his time in the television business. He covers college football, college basketball, and professional golf and tennis tournaments. Traveling has taken Twibell all over the world, including this year's Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia.
"I've been around the world with my job, which has been a great education in itself." Twibell said.
The greatest thrill in Twibell's career occurred this summer as he was covering the World Cup final in Pasadena, Calif.
"When I said, 'This is the largest audience in the history of the world to watch an event,' it didn't sound right, but it was right." Twibell said. "There's never been an event that more people have watched at one time. When you think about that for a second, it's really mind boggling."
ABC sports commentator Roger Twibell, a Kansas graduate, begins his backswing in the Hawkers and Hackers Golf Tournament. Twibell participated in the tournament to help raise funds for the Kansas golf program.
Twibell said Kansas gave him the opportunity to receive a quality college education and become what he is today. Twibell wanted to give something back to the university.
In addition to helping the golf program financially, Twibell hopes the tournament benefits the collegiate players in learning more about themselves and others.
"Obviously we want to raise money to help the program, but what I also want to do is help these kids that are coming here to play golf understand
that it's more than just a game. It's all about people," he said. "It gives them a chance to intermingle with the people in golf, the people that support them."
In the past, the men's team organized fund raisers, but this was the first attempt at fund raising for the women, and the first joint attempt between the men and women.
"It's a relatively new experience for
the women." Waugh said.
Twibell said he believed this event, with well-known Kansas sports figures such as alumni golfers Holly Reynolds and Matt Gogel, and men's basketball coach Roy Williams in attendance, may be the beginning of something big.
"What we want to do is make this a little bit better and bigger each year," Twibell said.
Compiled from The Associated Press.
Kansas senior guard Hessley Hempstead practices Monday afternoon. According to The *Sporting News*, Hempstead is the 10th-best guard in the nation, but he is battling senior teammate John Jones for the starting position.
Jayhawk guard ranked 10th best in the country
Hempstead still competes with teammate for top spot
By Matt Irwin
Kansan staff writer
On most teams this would make him the pillar of the offense, but on the Kansas football team, being the second best guard in the Big Eight may also mean he is second-best on the team.
Hessley Hempstead may be the second best guard in the Big Eight Conference and one of the best in the country, say Big Eight coaches and media.
The Sporting News rated Hempstead, a senior, as the 10th best guard in the country. They rated senior teammate John Jones as the fifth best guard.
"This week in practice, Hessley was number five and John was number 10," offensive line coach Golden Pat Ruel said. "That means Hessley is the number one guard at this school right now. Next week, John might take it back from him. We've got great competition going on right now."
The competition between Hempstead and Jones over the past four years may be why both have developed into feared and respected lineman.
"John and I compete with each other because we know it is going to make us better," said Hempstead, who has started every game since his freshman season. "We're both going out there trying to do the best we can and it helps us both raise our level of plav."
That competition has helped them to be good enough to be considered by some members of the media as the best guard tandem in the country. One national publication rated the offensive line as a whole the ninth best in the country.
But the opinion of the media is not the opinion Hempstead cares about.
"Iget more out of my fellow players and my coaches coming up to me and telling me they thought I did a good job and they appreciated it." Hemstead said.
From the way his teammates and coaches talk about him, he'll never need to read about himself in the media.
"The two of them have had more domination blocks than any two players I've ever coached," Ruel said. "A domination block is a block where they drive their defender to the ground."
Senior fullback Chris Powell, who has seen Hessley play the past four years, said he was just as impressed.
Rugl's memory of some of Hempstead's best games
"The first memory that comes to my mind is when he was a red-shirt freshman," Powell said. "We were playing Nebraska and Mike Petko was an All-Big Eight linebacker. I saw Hessley Hempstead come off and put him on his back three times. He was a big linebacker. It was amazing to see a red-shirt freshman get underneath him and put him on his back."
include last year's 21-20 loss to Nebraska and the victory over Oklahoma State.
"Against Oklahoma State he had several domination blocks and he had a couple of blocks on linebackers that were great," Ruel said. "He hit the linebacker and just knocked him back four or five yards."
Powell said game film was the best evidence to show how good Hempstead and Jones were.
"All you have to do is look at films of games and see all the people he's driven back into the ground," Powell said. "You kind of laugh when you see him block some people because it's just devastating."
Hempstead believes the keys to his success have been hard work and listening to Ruel, who he considers one of the best offensive line coaches in the country.
The hard work ethic is something he also sees in the athlete he admires most, Ervin "Magic" Johnson. Along with the leadership Magic displayed, Hempstead also tries to emulate his work ethic.
"You look in the old interviews and he talks about how he was married to the game," Hempstead said. "He was dedicated to being successful, and he was successful."
Hempstead also looks at great professional linemen like Nate Newton of the Dallas Cowboys as an example.
"You watch guys like that, but beyond that the more important things are you have to be willing to put in the work and the time," Hempstead said. "You have a great coach here. If you're willing to listen to him and be coachable, he knows how to make you a great player."