The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 38

Section The Indianapolis Star mnPiV Comics 8 mxTS Obituaries 10 FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER 23. 1988 uassmea 1U-Z4 njury insurance only hitch in Solt-Colt pact By JOHN BANSCH STAR STAFF WRITER The Indianapolis Colts signed three players Thursday. Pro Bowl guard Ron Solt was not one of them. The four-year veteran balked at accepting a five-year contract reportedly valued in excess of $2 million because the Colts would not pay for an insurance policy which would guarantee the last three years of the deal if he were injured.

In an attempt to beef up an injury-riddled line, the Colts did sign tackles Bob Brotzki and Dan McQuaid. They also signed kicker Kerry Brady. Brotzki, a ninth-round draft choice of the Colts in 1986, retired in training camp this summer. He and Jim Lachey a Colt. It did not materialize because of a lack of willingness on the part of the Colts, so, Lachey was traded to the Los Angeles Raiders (who traded him to the Washington Redskins)." It would not surprise Solt if the Colts make no further attempts to sign him and force him to sit out the season.

"That would be a pretty foolish move, so it is a possibility," he said. The lineman said he is irritated because he gave in to the Colts on every one of their demands but they would not compromise with him. "I told them I would accept a contract with no signing bonus and I'm not getting paid for the games I missed," he explained. "They're getting everything. The boss (owner Robert Irsay) got his way.

All I asked is that they stand behind me." Toner was even more adamant. "He (Solt) agreed to a considerable amount of income less than his true worth on the mar-See COLTS Page 7 1987 and Buffalo this year. He is expected to handle kickoff chores Sunday against Miami in the Hoosier Dome. The Colts also waived offensive tackle Chris Gambol, a third-round pick last year from Iowa. Solt was not a happy person as he talked openly with the media.

"I feel like a piece of machinery," said the man who earned Pro Bowl honors last year. "They want me to go out there and risk my neck but they won't stand behind me. Injuries are so common. You never know when a career-ending Injury will occur. Why should I put my career on the line when they won't protect me?" Tom Toner, the San Diego-based agent representing Solt, said the cost of the insurance policy would be somewhere between $30,000 and $50,000: "What they are saying by rejecting our request is they aren't responsible if Ron rips up his back or breaks his neck." General Manager Jim Irsay issued a one sen tence statement through director of public relations Craig Kelley.

It said: "Negotiations are continuing and we are not discussing specifics." Neither Solt nor Toner is certain what the next move will be, but both are doubtful the offensive lineman will ever play for the Colts again. "I guess my next move is to seek another team," asserted Solt. "I hope we can resolve this petty difference, but if they can't they might as well get rid of me." Asked if he was ready to wash his hands of the Colts, the guard replied, "I definitely am." Toner said: "In all likelihood, Ron will never be an Indianapolis Colt." The agent also said he asked Irsay for permission to work out a trade. The offer, according to Toner, was refused. "Jim Irsay indicated no one would pay the price we were seeking." said Toner.

"He said, 'I gave you that opportunity once and it didn't That's not true. "We almost had a trade worked out which would have made Ron Solt a San Diego Charger had to clear waivers. McQuaid was claimed on waivers from Minnesota. He was signed by the Los Angeles Rams as a free agent in 1984, spent the season on injured reserve and played the next three years with Washington. Brady was in training camp with Dallas in Lewis breezes toward Johnson showdown Sports Over Lightly ASSOCIATED PRESS By BOB COLLINS What is Winsloitfs 110 percent Seoul, South Korea (Friday) Carl Lewis tuned up for his summer showdown with Ben Johnson as track and field began at the Seoul Games Friday, and Soviet sprite Elena Shu-shunova succeeded Mary Lou Retton as the Summer Olympics' perfect 10.

Shushunova won the duel of darlings with Daniela Sillvas of Romania in the closest finish ever for the women's all-around gymnastics title. It came down to the final event, the vault. She needed a 10, just as Retton did to win the same title in 1984, and she got it, Just as Retton did. As chaos moved from the boxing ring to the track oval, Rosa Mota of Portugal, 1987 world champion, won the Games' first track gold medal, breaking away with 2'2 miles left and capturing the women's marathon. And Jackie Joyner-Kersee got off to a record-breaking start in the heptathlon.

worth now? A TERRIBLE thing hap- i 1 1 peneu 10 ienen winsiuw SSV (J Ml IT'lv p' pT I on his trip to the Hall of Fame. In the eighth game of the 1984 season, he was taken from the field of com bat on his sword. Touch guvs not only do not eat quiche, they try never to show pain in front of an audi ence. On Thursday, swimmers Matt But Winslow was in agony. Biondi and Janet Evans planted a solid gold exclamation mark at His right knee was stretched in front of him on the cart.

You almost could feel the silent the end of a day marked by violence and disgrace when Korean boxing officials attacked a screams. The knee wasn't torn, it was referee after a tough loss by one shredded. There were stories of their boxers. from San Diego that he was Romallis Ellis of Ellenwood, finished. Ga gave the U.S.

boxing team Up until that moment he had ASSOCIATED PRESS been a fearsome presence on a football field: perhaps the finest tight end in NFL history. Jackie Joyner-Kersee (center) attacks the first of her hurdles in the heptathlon, lowering the Olympic record in the process. And he was working on a contract that brought smiles to SCORES the faces of IRS accountants. He was in the hilltop home and swimming pool neighborhood of AMERICAN LEAGUE quarterbacks. 7 Baltimore its fifth straight victory Friday, beating another Korean, Lee Kang-suk.

Battering Lee in the face and body, Ellis won the decision 5-0 in the 132-pound class, and there could.be no protest from Koreans on this one. "If it went the distance, I was very scared it might go the other way," Ellis said. The 4-foot-6 Silivas. with curly blond hair, actually held a slim lead going into the vault, but she scored only a 9.95 when the Soviet judge, former world champion Nelli Kim, gave Silivas a 9.8. That gave Shushunova, 19-year-old former world champion, the opening she needed, and she scored a perfect 10 on her first Detroit 6 California Minnesota vault, sticking like a bug to flypaper on her landing.

She broke into a big, if tentative, grin as the score flashed, and Silivas broke Into tears. Another Soviet. Svetlana Bo-gulnskaya, won the bronze. Lewis, defending Olympic champion and trying for another four-gold grand slam at the Games, took his 100-meter heat in 10.14 seconds, fastest of the first round, then clocked 9.99 in the second round. Johnson, the world record-holder from Canada, bolted from the blocks, then coasted home in ning all over the track A guy Jumped in front of me.

I almost pulled a muscle." Joyner-Kersee, world record-holder and 1987 world champion, charged over the 100-meter high hurdles in 12.69 seconds, an Olympic record, in the first of seven events making up the heptathlon. In another final, Jozef Pribi-linec of Czechoslovakia won the men's 20-kilometer walk with Ronald Heigel East Germany second and Maurizio Damilano of Italy third. The other medal See OLYMPICS Page 2 10.37 to win his first heat. Johnson, whose world mark is 9.83, was third in his second heat, again pulling up short of the finish line. Lewis later complained that the starter had too quick a trigger finger, which may favor Johnson, who is known for his fast starts.

Edwin Moses, who won his 400-meter hurdles heat, said there were too many people milling around, getting in the way. "It was chaos out there at the start," he said. "There was no chance to warm up, people run NATIONAL LEAGUE 3 San Francisco 1 Cincinnati 1 3 Philadelphia New York 3 Atlanta Houston 5 Los Angeles San Diego TH South set for big battle at Ben Davis Promoter calls NHL exhibition disappointing due to turnout 1 Oft HL "rJ -H He was a b-5, VJou-pouna instrument of destruction. Once he caught the ball on one of those quick passes, he was bigger than anyone he would meet the rest of the way. Winslow was at least a problem and a half for defenders.

He was strong enough to take the ball from them and fleet enough to leave them in his wake. He combined ability with intelligence. He also was a fine blocker. And he probably could have made the Pro Bowl as a defensive end or linebacker. But San Diego wanted him grabbing those Dan Fouts passes.

And it was a piece of cake. In the three seasons before the injury, Winslow averaged 88 catches and more than 1,100 yards per season. And he was padding his all-time totals in 1984. hauling In 55 for 663 yards in seven games. Winslow also starred in one of the most spectacular NFL playoff games ever.

That was Jan. 2, 1982 San Diego against Miami. San Diego won, 41-38. as the teams wore out statisticians with 1,036 yards in total offense. But the most memorable moment was when Winslow, who had caught 13 passes for 166 yards and done about everything else but run the scoreboard, blocked a Miami field goal with four seconds left.

The San Diego star played the entire game in overdrive. At the conclusion, he slumped to the ground. He'd left it all out there. The knee was reconstructed after that 1984 injury. Winslow had extensive rehabilitation and returned in the middle of the 1985 season.

And he's had some good years. But they have not been Kel-len Winslow years. Winslow had lost a step and was in constant pain. In June, he had his fourth operation since the reconstruction. This See COLLINS Page 5 STAR STAFF PH0T0R08 G0EBEL Detroit's Gerard Gallant (dark jersey) and St Louis' Brian Benning wrestle to the ice in the first period at MSA Thursday night.

By MARK SCHNEIDER STAR STAFF WRITER Terre Haute South Vigo coach Rod Shafer is being facetious. "If we can get the kids to have enough courage to get on the bus," he jokes, "we'll be all right." The Braves' bus ride will be bringing them to Indianapolis' Westside where Metro records, schedule, Page 6 South Vigo. 4-0 and rated seventh in the AP media and ninth in the UP1 coaches polls, will meet Ben Davis' top-ranked and defending state champion Giants tonight at 7:30 in what should be the top Class 5A showdown yet this season. South Vigo Is looking to atone for last year's 19-0 shutout from the Giants. The Braves have been ranked in the AP poll for most of the season, but just broke into the UPI Top 10 this week after disposing of Muncie South.

And just when Shafer's crew joins the state's elite, making the Top 10 in both polls, along comes a rematch against Ben Davis, winner of 10 consecutive games. "They have so many veteran players back and so much speed," says "Some teams have weaknesses you can exploit, but they don't have any glaring weaknesses." The Giants can run with senior halfback Thomas "Tank" Adams having rushed for 258 yards in one game this season. They also can pass with senior quarterback Kent Brltt and senior wide receiver Scott McGowan pairing up. See PREPS Page 7 By BILL PICKETT STAR STAFF WRITER Eric Clarke Is an unlikely hockey fan. A native of the British Channel Islands where hockey Isn't that big, he's been organizing and promoting National Hockey League pre-season games since 1984.

He does it through Paramark Inc. out of San Francisco, of which he is president. Thursday night's NHL exhibition contest In Market Square Arena won by St. Louis, 4-1, over Detroit wasn't his promotion it belonged to St. Louis, but he handled it for the Blues.

"We've got 2,212 paid in the stands." he shrugged between the second and third periods. It was without a doubt the biggest disappointment of the preseason for Clarke as far as attendance is concerned. He's got five games in four cities in 1 1 nights promoted by his own organization, and ticket sales are lively elsewhere around the country. "Detroit will be the home team Oct. 1 and 2 in Oakland and we've sold out both games," he noted.

Los Angeles, led by Wayne Gretzky, is the Red Wings opponent Oct. 2. "It was like a rock concert when we opened the ticket office," Clarke said of the response in Oakland. "We sold the game out In 70 minutes. No doubt it was the spillover from that game that helped sell out the game before that." Gretzky and Edmonton played in MSA "But I understand you haven't had hockey here for a year or so.

Maybe since you have a team (Indianapolis Ice) again this year It will awaken the interest." Detroit spent much of the night short-handed and. according to coach Jacques Demers, "We played pretty well considering that. We played two good periods but we've got to play 60 minutes. "When they (Blues) went ahead, 3-1, we were just about out of it." Greg Paslawski, rookie Steve Tuttle, Brian Benning and Tony Hrkac scored for the Blues. Jeff Sharpies got Detroit's goal.

Clarke wasn't the only disappointed person in the house. Demers, whose Red Wings are 0-4 in preseason, would liked to have had a victory in front of his many friends here, where he coached the Racers of the World Hockey Association in the mid-1970s. last year and drew about 5.000 fans, but Clarke isn't feeling out potential NHL expansion sites. "That's not my job. We Just try to bring NHL hockey to good-sized cities who don't have Clarke, who also will promote the Indiana Pacers' preseason game In Oklahoma City this fall.

Would he bring another NHL game to Indianapolis? "This is St. Louis' game," he said. "It's up to them." Blues general manager Ron Caron didn't commit himself. "We'll look at the situation later." he said. "It's up to (Blues president) Jack Quinn." Caron admitted he also was disappointed with the turnout.

"We had two good teams here with just about a full major-league lineup and they played a good game." He would like to have had more fans witness it. i.