UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, February 11. 1997
3B
Athletes make too much, but they are not to blame
Here are just a few of the things that have been rumblin', stumblin', bumblin' around in my head the last few days.
■ $40,000,000. In 1994, the average family's yearly income in the United States was $38,000. By my estimation, it would take that family 1,053 years to earn $40 million, which is the amount heavyweight boxer Eavender Holyfield will get for trying to rearrange Mike Tyson's face for a few rounds. Does that seem wrong to anyone?
Say what you want, but All-Star Kevin Garnett obviously made the right choice when he went straight from high school to the NBA. A few weeks ago Kansan sports editor Spencer Duncan wrote that anyone who said athletes shouldn't take millions to leave college and play a game was probably a hypocrite. I know that if someone offered me a million dollars for any job, let alone to play a game, my Slavic Folkolce class could probably be postponed for a few years.
- Believe it or not, spring training is only a few days away, so I guess it is time for some predictions.
In the American League, Seattle will go all the way. Its top five of Joey Cora, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner is easily the best in the majors. Texas is hurting because it lost Juan Gonzalez, and New York won't sneak up on anybody this year.
Griffey and Oakland slugger Mark McGwire will battle for the home run crown and for the MVP.
In the senior circuit it is a tougher choice. The Braves are still the team to beat until somebody knocks them off their pedestal, but a couple of teams could do just that. New skipper Jim Leyland will
COLUMNIST
put the rebuilt Marlins on the map, and either the Padres or the Dodgers will emerge as a powerhouse in the National League West.
Finally having some protection in the lineup, Gary Sheffield will make a run at the Triple Crown and the National League MVP.
Question: Which of the following would be the most stupid?
1. The Royals getting rid of Tom Goodwin.
2. Betting your roommate a semester's worth of Gumby Destroyers that Brady Anderson will hit 50 home runs again this season.
3. Talking trash about Missouri's lucky win against an injury- and foul-stricken
Kansas team, adding fuel to the fire for when the teams meet again in Allen Field House.
Answer: It is a trick question. They would all be equally stupid.
1. Those All-Sport commercials don't lie: the basketball rims will move.
3. The New York 49ers will win the Super Bowl.
2. Offensive linemen that are 6 feet 9 inches tall and 425 lbs will be considered too small to play the position.
4. Paul Molitor will retire.
5. K-State will win their first conference basketball game against someone besides Oklahoma.
A few years ago it might have made better sense for the Chiefs to sign a "more mature" quarterback. They had veterans on offense at running back, tight end and wide receiver. They needed a quarterback with experience to go along with the rest of the offense.
Now they have fresh faces at all of those positions, like Greg Hill, Lake Dawson and Chris Penn. So if the rest of the offense is young, isn't it time they invested in a young quarterback? I know I would rather see them develop a guy like Jake Plummer into a top-quality quarterback than to take a chance on someone like Jeff George, whose arm, no matter how strong, is no match for his mouth.
Boxer McCall faces complaint
LAS VEGAS — Oliver McCall was drug-free when he stopped fighting and started crying during his WBC heavyweight title fight with Lennox Lewis.
The Associated Press
Nevada boxing regulators said yesterday that a urine sample taken from McCall after he lost in the fifth round Friday night came back negative when tested for drugs.
McCall's $3,075,500 purse from the fight continues to be held in escrow in a New Jersey bank pending Nevada's investigation into why he stopped both throwing punches and defending himself in the fourth round of the scheduled 12-round fight for the vacant WBC heavyweight title.
"He gave us a urine test with no complaints right after the fight despite his agitated state," said Marc Ratner, Nevada Athletic Commission director. "It's important to know it was negative."
After the fourth round, McCall stood and cried in his corner, and referee Mills Lane finally stopped the fight at 55 seconds of the fifth round.
Lawyers for the athletic commission were putting the final touches yesterday on a complaint to send to McCall, who will have 30 days to respond before a hearing is set before the commission.
has imposed has been $35,000.
By statute, the most the commission can fine McCall is $250,000 although the largest fine it ever
McCall stormed out of the ring after the fight without answering questions, but he said at a press conference on Saturday that his actions were part of a plan to tire Lewis out and win the fight in the late rounds.
However, even McCall's own trainer said there was no such plan and called the boxer "a lunatic."
Ratner, meanwhile, said he would seek a new regulation that would give the commission guidelines in determining whether to license a fighter who has been involved in drugs or is in drug rehabilitation.
McCall entered outpatient drug rehabilitation after being arrested in mid-December for throwing a Christmas tree during a drunken rampage in a Nashville hotel.
"We did test him, not psychologically, but for drugs and HIV, and everything was fine," Ratner said. "I think maybe if a guy is in some sort of rehabilitation situation, we need to have a longer separation period before he fights."
Ratner said McCall's actions could not have been anticipated because he was sparring and running daily in preparation for the fight.
"But we always try to learn from something so we don't get a repeat of these things," he said. "We're a proactive commission. If we're not doing something right, we need to change it."
Retired Philly hopes to play baseball again
Jordan's future still up in the air
The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — Andy Van Slyke, who retired after the 1995 season because of back problems, is trying to make a comeback with his original baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who needs a backup third baseman and wants a reserve infielder who hits left-handed, has invited Van Slyke to training camp as a non-roster player. Van Slyke, 36, won five Gold Gloves as a center fielder, but started out as an erratically throwing third baseman with the Cardinals in 1984.
Van Slyke, who retired from the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1995 season, has undergone a strenuous offseason workout program. He said he had been working out since August. Van Slyke said he had no physical problems and intended to report to St. Petersburg Fla., next week.
"My back problems are always going to be in the attic," Van Slyke said. "If it comes to the point where it's going to keep me from playing, I'll go back home."
Van Skye's age isn't likely to be a factor in his comeback bid. The Cardinals have the two oldest pitchers in the major leagues (Rick Honeycutt and Dennis Eckersley, both 42). There is also left-hander Tony Fossas, 39, and third baseman Gary Gaetti, 38.
"I'm not relatively close to being the oldest guy on the team," Van Slyke said. "I don't believe I can apply for an AARP card yet."
The Associated Press
Van Slyke has no expectations about playing time.
"It's better playing a little on a good team than a lot on a bad team," he said.
Bulls star may retire after season
Van Slyke is a two-time All-Star, and he played in three playoff series with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1990 to 1992. He was on the Cardinals' 1985 World Series team before being traded to the Pirates in 1987 for catcher Tony Pena.
CLEVELAND — There will never be another All-Star game like it. Nothing will ever quite match the spectacle of the greatest players in NBA history being introduced together.
He has a .274 career average with 164 home runs. He hit .310 or better twice with the Pirates and had 100 RBI in 1988.
There also may never be another All-Star game with Michael Jordan participating. Jordan apparently is wavering on whether he will return to the Chicago Bulls next season.
When he retired, Van Slyke said he had always intended to give baseball another shot. He wants to finish in St. Louis, where he has lived for about 15 years.
"It could have been the last. I don't have a problem saying that," Jordan said after recording the first triple-double in All-Star game history as the East beat the West 132-120 Sunday.
"It itwed that I could still play with these guys no matter how old I am, and have a good time doing so. If this so happens to be my last All-Star game, believe me, I've been very happy to entertain the fans in whatever capacity I have in the last nine years."
It almost sounded like a farewell statement from the game's greatest player, who had said Saturday that he wanted to come back to the Bulls next season if coach Phil Jackson also wanted to return.
Less than two weeks ago, Jordan sounded certain that he would be back.
"Nobody can put a time frame, or a time limit, on something you love. Right now I love the game," he said at the time. "I hope to fulfill all those expectations of winning a championship and go right into next year."
So what gives? Is he coming back next season or not? The definitive answer won't come until the Bulls finish the season. Chicago has a 42-6 record, and a record-breaking 73 victories isn't out of the question.
The season resumes tonight with 12 games, including Jordan and the Bulls against the Charlotte Homets and All-Star MVP Glen Rice. Dennis Rodman will be back for Chicago after serving an 11-game suspension for kicking a cameraman.
The Bulls seem certain to lock up the No. 1 playoff seed in the East, but it is a different story in the West, where the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz and Seattle SuperSonics are within three games of one another.
By linking his future with Jackson's, Jordan could be doing his coach a favor — forcing the Bulls to rehire Jackson before he will definitively commit to coming back.
Obviously, the season still has plenty of
excitement left. But once it is finished, will Chicago owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who is paying Jordan $30.1 million this season, offer $40 million for next season? Or $45 million? Or $50 million?
The halftime spectacle at Gund Arena was something to behold. There were 47 of the game's greats, from Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Larry Bird to Elvin Hayes, spread across the Gund Arena court.
One by one they were introduced, each stepping onto an X-shaped podium that covered the floor. The 20,562 fans gave them a standing ovation when the introductions were complete, and the game seemed like an afterthought when it resumed.
But thanks to Jordan and Rice, it wasn't.
But thanks to Jordan and Rice, it wasn't. The East used a 40-7 run bridging the second and third quarters to overcome a 23-point deficit, and Rice scored 20 points in the third quarter to break the record Hal Greer of Philadelphia set in 1969.
The Associated Press
Parcells' contract disputes with New England continue
NEW YORK — A meeting to resolve the Bill Parcells contract dispute dragged on for more than five hours yesterday without announcement of a resolution.
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue met with representatives of the New York Jets and New England Patriots, trying to broker a deal between the teams that would allow Parcells to begin coaching the Jets immediately instead of a year from now.
The meeting at the offices of the NFL's law firm started at 11:30 a.m. EST and was still going on at 5 p.m., including a half-hour break for lunch.
There was no indication how long the session would last.
Parcells didn't attend the meeting, but TV crews, fans and passers-by waited in the lobby in hopes of seeing the coach who led the Patriots to the Super Bowl this season.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Jets owner Leon Hess, Jets president Steve Gutman and attorneys for both sides attended the meeting.
Technically, the meeting with Tagliabua was to determine what Parcells could do as a consultant for the Jets, who recently gave him that title for next season while his coaching rights remain in dispute.
But Tagliabue obviously would like the
It is an issue that has plagued the NFL office since the Patriots lost 35-21 to Green Bay in the Super Bowl two weeks ago.
Jets and Patriots to agree on a deal that would free Parcells from the last year on his contract with New England.
Tagliabile ruled that Parcells remained the property of New England as a coach or in a comparable position until Feb. 1, 1998, the expiration date of his contract.
Last week, however, the Jets hired Parcells as a consultant for next year before taking charge as coach and general manager the following season. Bill Belichick, Parcells' longtime associate, was appointed coach for 1997, but he would give way to Parcells if a deal is worked out that would allow him to coach the Jets next season.
On Friday, Parcells signed a six-year contract with the Jets, with a guarantee that he would coach four years.
Kraft called the consultant's agreement a sham, and the issue went back to Tagliabue to decide what "consultant" means under the agreement.
New England has been sticking to its demand for the Jets' first overall pick in the April draft. The Jets have refused to consider it, although they might give up next year's No.1 pick.
'Tis the season to be prepared.
And all the professors get together and assign term papers.
Compaq Presario 4104ES
16/1.6GB/6xCD
$1865.00 14" Display
$1965.00 15" Display
Compaq Presario 4406
16/1.2GB/6xCD
$1865.00
We have more of what you want.
Macintosh. The power to be your best at KU.
union technology center
Academic Supplies, Service & Equipment Burge Union • Level 3 • 913-864-5690