4B
Monday, April 24, 1995
SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Baseball owners grovel to lure fans
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Teams are slashing early-season ticket prices, letting kids in some ballparks for free and putting budget-priced meals on the menu.
Baseball owners are clearly worried whether fans will embrace the game again.
They might even deploy players near the concession stands to autograph scorecards.
The bitter 232-day strike snuffed out what was shaping up as a potentially classic season last August. It ended a home run record chase, wiped out the World Series and delayed the start of this season by three weeks.
Players ended their strike March 31 only after a court order forced owners to adhere to the terms of the expired collective bargaining agreement.
With opening games slated to begin Tuesday night, the commissioner's office last week unveiled a new national advertising campaign in an attempt to reclaim fans' affection. "Welcome to the Show" is the theme.
But the 28 teams will have to demonstrate
in the 50,000-capacity Houston Astrodome with only days remaining before the Astros opener.
"No doubt it is going to require some special effort to get the fans back," team spokesman Tyler Barnes said.
The Kansas City Royals are giving away 5,000 general admission tickets to their first four home games and as many as 35,000 meal coupons to reserved ticket holders at those games.
It planned an open house this weekend so fans could see the newly-sodded field — replacing the old artificial turf — the clubhouse and the dugouts.
The Pittsburgh Pirates cut ticket prices in half for games through May 11, and is offering discounts on
"We understand the fans have gone through a lot of pain over the past eight months," Royals spokesman Steven Fink said.
why the sport that left its followers stranded last summer deserves another look.
"No doubt it's going to require some special effort to get the fans back."
Many teams are discounting prices for opening day, some for the opening weekend and others for selected dates through May.
But even with discounted prices as low as $2 for some seats, only about 24,000 tickets had been sold
Tyler Barnes
Tyler Barnes
Houston Astros team spokesman
parking and concessions
concessions.
"We want to create an atmosphere at the ballpark that is more fun than it has ever been in the past
a situation where families can feel more a part of the game," said Steve Greenberg, the Pirates' head of marketing. Pirates plays
Pirates players
will be more accessible at the park and make more appearances in the community. Greenberg said.
The Boston Red Sox cut prices to its first four games in half, and marketing chief Lawrence Cancro said fans will find Fenway Park "more family-friendly" with baby changing tables and lower-priced kid's meals.
The Los Angeles Dodgers rolled
"We understand the fans have gone through a lot of pain over the past eight months."
”
Steven Fink Kansas City Royals spokesman
prices back to 1958 levels — their first year in Los Angeles — for opening night. That means tickets will go for $1.50 to $3.50 a seat compared with the regular rate of $6 to $13.
Kids can get in free for general admission seats the first weekend, and Dodgers players will sign autographs at tables and booths throughout the stadium, marketing executive Barry Stockhamer said.
The California Angels will give away prizes every inning on opening day, when reserved seats will be available for $1.
The game will mark the 35th anniversary of the inception of the Angels.
"We are trying to make our opening day a fan thank-you day," marketing chief Joseph Schrier said.
Sixty little Leaguers will be on the field to throw out the first pitches at the Milwaukee Brewers' home opener. The Brewers will give opening day ticket holders a coupon good for a free ticket for any one of the five Monday night games on the schedule.
The New York Yankees and Metis and the Chicago White Sox also are offering discounts on some early-season tickets and meals.
Team executives hope the game's classic appeal will win back fans on its own as the season progresses.
Roger Clemens returns to Boston for shoulder tests
The Associated Press
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Roger Clemens has returned to Boston for tests on his sore right shoulder, and the Red Sox are planning to play the start of the season without the three-time Cy Young Award winner.
"I said if I felt any kind of cramping I'd shut it down, and that's basically what happened," Clemens said. "Every time I get extended or try to put a little more force behind it to drive a ball to the plate, it pulls my shoulder back. I think there's some muscle back there that doesn't want to fire off."
Clemens was scheduled to meet with team doctor Art Pappas yesterday.
"Hopefully, we can narrow it down to what it is, and then I'll know how far I can push it," Clemens said. "I just need to know whether I need to shut down from doing my exercises or I need to increase them."
Red Sox manager Kevin Kennedy said the Red Sox would wait for the test results before deciding whether to put Clemens on the disabled list. Clemens has not appeared in any exhibition games.
"We're prepared for the worst," Kennedy said. "If you prepare for the worst and you're pleasantly surprised, you're ahead of schedule. If you do it the other way around, you get caught short."
Kennedy said the club had contingency plans for worst-case scenarios. Clemens will probably not return until May 9, he said.
General manager Dan Duquette said there were no immediate plans to add a pitcher to fill in. Aaron Sele will start the opener.
"With Roger being one of the best pitchers in the game, it's a big blow. But sometimes something like that can pick everybody up," said Erik Hanson, who becomes the Red Sox's No. 2 starter.
"It's just a matter of us as a rotation picking it up."
Foreman keeps title in bout with 'hard German'
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — For much of his heavyweight title defense against unranked Axel Schulz Saturday night, George Foreman looked like an old fighter. And at the final bell, he looked like an old loser.
Foreman, his left eye closed by a knot the size of a golf ball, his legs wobbly, his paunch heaving, was a very weary warrior at the end. But it only took him a matter of minutes to hurl a challenge at Mike Tyson.
But two of the three judges thought the 46-year-old champion had done enough to keep his title. So he kept it in a majority decision.
"There would be two punches," Foreman said. "He would hit me and I would hit the ground, or I would hit him and he would hit the ground."
Foreman hit Schulz with a lot of thunderous left jabs, but he could never put his punches together, and the challenger was never on the canvas.
On the other hand, while the German could put punches together, he lacked the power to put George down. That seemed to be the winning combination for Foreman — his punishing jab and Schulz's lack of power.
Judge Chuck Gianmpa called it a draw, 114-114, while judges Keith McDonald and Jerry Roth favored Foreman 115-113.
The AP scored it 114-114.
Although Schulz's finest round appeared to be the 12th, McDonald scored that one for Foreman, 10-9. If he had given it to Schulz, his card would also have been 114-114 and Big George would have kept the title on a majority draw.
"He ran and you don't win the championship running," Foreman said. Schulz did a lot of circling, but there were many times when he stood and outpunched the champion.
"I'm always surprised when somebody gives me the decision," Foreman said, his tongue firmly planted in a puffy cheek. "The guy had a great fight. I won on the point system. It was hard for me to get psyched up."
But if Foreman thought before the fight that Schulz would be a dumpling, by the end of the fight he knew he'd been in with a hard man.
"I'm very upset. I will not say anything," was Schulz's first reaction to his narrow defeat.
"I said before when you fight Germans, they have a lot of pride," Foreman said. "I knew this guy would be tough. It did not surprise me how tough he was."
HARBOUR LIGHTS
Later, the challenger said, "I think George is a big champion. If he is the champion I think he is, he will give me a rematch in Germany.
Let's talk about STDs.
Linda S. Lyle
M. D., Univ. of Kansas, 1987
Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Practice, KUMC Board Certified in Family Practice
April is STD Awareness and Education Month. Remember that you can reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. Abstinence is the surest way to avoid STDs, but if you decide to have intercourse — use a latex condom and spermicide with nonoxynol-9 every time. Spermicides and condoms are available at Watkins Pharmacy.
Consult your Watkins physician if you have questions about STDs. For an appointment call 864-9507.
864-9500
Opens April 28th at a theatre near you