UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, May 1, 1996
5B
Laettner comes alive in playoffs
Former college star plays intense in first dose of postseason
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — Christian Laettner looks as if he's back at Duke.
The fist is pumping. The lungs are howling. The body is diving to the floor for loose balls.
Look closely and you might even see the beginnings of a smile, something that was unthinkable during his three-plus seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"I can't remember when I've had more fun playing basketball," Laettner said, savoring his 24-point, eight-rebound performance Monday night in a 90-83 victory against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference playoffs. "It was like a practice game with no refs. If you get fouled, don't worry about it."
Laetner was a fixture in the postseason at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to NCAA titles in 1991 and '92. But when he got to Minnesota, he found himself on a team that had no hope of making the plavoffs.
With every defeat, Laetner's patience diminished and his reputation as a whiner grew. Finally, after he directed an outburst at teenager Kevin Garnett, the Timberwolves shipped him to the Hawks in February.
In Atlanta, Laettner has been leery of opening up to the media, but he seems to be making a concerted effort to mesh with his new teammates. He's constantly offering encouragement and hasn't complained about having to play out of position at center.
He credits his change in attitude to being with a playoff team.
"Working hard for three years in the NBA, playing and practicing as much as anyone else and you're not winning your share of games because you're not on a very good team," he said. "I'm glad to be on a better team, that's all."
The Hawks, who have a 2-1 edge in their best-of-five series with the Pacers, are one victory away from moving into the second round for just the second time in eight years. Game 4 will be tomorrow night in Atlanta.
Laetner's passion for the game was evident against the Pacers on Monday night. Giving up five inches and 35 pounds to Rik
Smits, Indiana's 7-foot-4, 265-pound center who scored 29 points in Game 2, Laettner made up for the size disadvantage with pure effort.
He hurled his body on the floor for loose balls. He waded inside to keep the ball alive on the offensive boards. He brought the crowd to its feet midway through the third quarter when he out muscled everyone for a rebound and was fouled on the following shot, his emotions erupting in a primal scream.
"Yeeeaaahhh!" he yelled, his fist pumping furiously.
"It was like something was born tonight," he said later. "The refs let us bang a little more than in Indiana (during the first two games). The intensity was overwhelming, and we played with a lot more fire."
The Pacers, who needed a big performance from Smits to compensate for the absence of Reggie Miller because of an eye injury, couldn't help but notice Laettner's play. Smits finished 5-of-14 from the field and had only five rebounds.
"Laettner was great," Indiana coach Larry Brown said. "He fought Rik on the post. He made pressure plays. And he kept rebounds alive."
Cardinals wait for Gant's slump to end
$25 million contract hasn't produced much in batting statistics
The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals' $25 million man isn't giving much of a return on the investment right now.
Cleanup hitter Ron Gant, who signed a five-year free-agent deal last December, is in a 5-for-43 tailspin that has his batting average down to .214. Everybody is waiting for the explosion.
Manager Tony La Russa, at least outwardly, has a patient attitude.
tion will be there."
"This is April," La Russa said. "If he was a rookie struggling, maybe it'd be different.
"This guy has an established track record. So you just make sure he's healthy and getting the work he needs, and the produc-
Braves manager Bobby Cox, who managed Gant for four seasons, also said it was just a matter of time.
"If you're going to give anybody a contract like that, Ronnie Gant is the perfect guy to give it to," Cox said. "He gives you everything he's got."
"He's the type of guy who's going to carry you, but he's like anybody else. There are going to be periods where he's not going to get any hits."
The just-completed series against Atlanta was one such example. Gant was 1-for-10 with four strikeouts. He fanned looking against Mark Wohlers with runners on second and third, ending the eighth inning in a 4-1 loss to Atlanta Monday night. The Cardinals got swept in three games.
Gant, who had 29 home runs and 88 RBI last year for Cincinnati, said he typically was a slow
starter. At least this year he's got a little cushion after a nice start, with the slump taking 103 points off his average.
"It usually comes around, and I know it will," said Gant, a .197 career hitter in April. "The hardest thing is to stay positive, but I've been around long enough that I'm not going to get my head down.
"I'm going to keep batting. Even Tony Gwynn goes 0-for-4."
Gant said perhaps he had been trying too hard to produce for the Cardinals, who are expected to contend for a postseason spot but were two games under .500 entering last night's game at Chicago.
"I was real aggressive at the start of the year, but I think I got to the point where I was trying to do too much, and it started taking its toll," Gant said. "Now I'm trying to just relax and let my natural talent flow."
practice, although that has nothing to do with the slump.
"Oh yeah, I do that all the time," Gant said. "If I'm hitting well, I still come in and get extra hacks just to keep it going. You shouldn't change anything if you're going good or bad."
He's also taking extra batting
One thing that is not a factor, Gant said, is his contract.
"The money I'm getting now is for stuff I did in the past," he said. "I was rewarded well for the career I've had, and I'm not going to think about it."
Actually, Gant's numbers are pretty good for a guy who's slumping. He leads the Cardinals in home runs with four, RBI with 19 and walks with 18.
"Ronnie is one of the better players in this league, and has been for a number of years," Cox said. "He is a guy who's going to be there at the end.
"His numbers will be there, believe me."
Brewers seek cash in players' salaries
Deferment request not that unusual executives claim
The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers insist there's nothing unusual about asking their highest-paid players to defer part of their salaries until after the season.
The Brewers sought assistance from six of their eight players who are earning more than $1 million this year because the team won't be getting money into its coffers as quickly as it thought.
Laurel Prieb, team vice president of corporate affairs, termed the deferment requests "a common business sports practice," but declined to cite examples of other teams he said had made similar appeals.
Salary deferments are common in professional sports. But usually it's the player and his agent who seek the deferment, not the team.
"I've never heard of it happening before," said one player who was courted. "Some guys ask for their payments to be deferred. Some guys ask for an advance. But I've never heard of a club actually asking players to defer because they're having problems."
Manager Phil Garner, who requested that part of his salary be deferred when he played for Houston in the early 1980s, said he was told the Brewers had "a cash-flow misunderstanding."
The Brewers get money from major league baseball's central fund, which includes revenue from television, licensing, postseason income and other sources.
"From a player's standpoint, I guess you're letting the ballclub be a bank for you, and if you don't have a problem with that, it's not like you're going to lose," Garner said.
"The other thing about it is when you're in that stratosphere, you probably don't need to have all of your money immediately anyway."
Ben McDonald, who will earn $2.5 million this season, said he had no problem helping the team.
"If I can help them out in any way that I can, I'll be glad to do it," said
McDonald, who referred club vice president Tom Gausden, who negotiates player contracts, to his agent, Scott Boras, to work something out.
"I was told at the time it was hushhush," McDonald said as the team prepared to fly to Toronto following a rainout at County Stadium.
"The revision cannot represent a reduction in the level of benefits the old contracts had," said Gene Orza, the No. 2 official of the players association. "What the team proposed is to defer with interest. On that basis, we'll approve all the renegotiations, I'm sure."
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Monday the team was seeking $1.5 million in deferments and found three players who agreed to the request, which includes payment of interest.
The team said the appeals made earlier this month were unrelated to the Brewers' efforts to obtain their $90 million share of the $250 million stadium project.
Robert Trunzo, chairman of the board that will oversee the stadium project, didn't return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.
The team asked the players to keep the requests quiet, and several members of the front office were angered the story was leaked.
Team president Bud Selig insisted the Brewers weren't having trouble meeting their $21 million payroll and declined further comment.
Several players asked about the deferment requests Monday agreed to talk only on the condition they not be identified.
"I told them I couldn't do it right now," one player said. "It didn't make me uncomfortable, no. It was not that big a deal, really."
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"I think they miscalculated their budget and they miscalculated the time they were going to have their monies coming in," another player said. "They're going to have their money. It's just that they're not going to have their money when they thought they'd have it."
"This money will get paid." Garner said. "So, I don't see any risk."
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