The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 48

Nashville gave its best shot at NL I si Larry Tail what are Nashville's chances? Good. Not great Not poor. On Friday, an informal survey of writers who covered the entire presentation process came up with unanimous "short list cities:" St Petersburg, Miami and Buffalo. The consensus was that two more areas from a list of four Nashville, Northern Virginia, Phoenix and Denver would also be on the shortlist Ron Blum of the Associatied Press covers the business end of baseball. He knows more about the internal workings of the game the labor and management the behind-the-scenes moving and shaking than just about any media type.

He lists Nashville on his short list "If it wasn't for Larry Schmittou, Nashville wouldn't even get a second Blum said. "But he is well connected. He's a baseball man who is dealing with baseball people. If you look at who has done the most to put themselves in a position to get a team, you'd say Buffalo and Nashville. But it's possible that for a variety of reasons, neither one may make it and certainly both won't" If Nashville doesn't get on the short list it is not because of something that it has not done.

One highly placed source who is very familiar with the entire NL operation told The Tennessean yesterday, "If Nashville isn't on the short list, it'll have more to do with the size of the city and the area than anything else. No city presented its case better." So if Nashville is on the short list what's next? Though it won't be done openly, Schmittou and his other short-list peers will lobby the other owners, subtly slipping in well-placed words at the winter meetings and on every other feasible occasion. And along the way, each short-list city will have to make every effort to impress the committee when it makes its on-site inspection. Nashville, Middle Tennessee, Northern Alabama and Southern Kentucky never have needed to come together in such a unified way as will be needed then. It'd be nice to say that each community should stand on its own merits, but there is more on the line than baseball.

And it's played by economics, not baseball rules. Chances 'good' for short list The question remains unanswered, but it gets bigger and bigger each day. What are Nashville's chances of getting major league baseball? In truth, probably no one knows, including members of the National League Expansion Committee. As Nashville Sounds President Larry Schmittou said moments after he made his presentation Sept 19, "This committee has been given a lot of information to digest" It has. Not only on Sept 18 and 19, but again Friday when the last presentations were made.

There is little that is certain in the expansion race. If there is a given, it is that Florida, most likely the Tampa Bay area on Florida's West Coast will receive one of the two teams that will begin play in 1993. With the Florida Suncoast Dome in St Petersburg, that area is considered the top choice. Just how strongly the media views the area was evident Friday 7 5 yvifA 1 1 in New York when one writer quipped, "Major league baseball will allow Denver and Phoenix to shoot themselves in the foot and still be considered. But St Petersburg could shoot itself in the head and still have a chance." St Petersburg's chances of being the chosen one might have been damaged slightly last week when Frank Morsani, the lead owner for the group considered most qualified, was slapped with a lawsuit for defaulting on an uncollateralized half-million dollar bank loan.

You have to figure the NL will make more than adequate background checks on Mr. Morsani before awarding him a team. But back to the original question File Larry Schmittou's savvy as a "baseball person" may land Nashville a spot on the National League expansion short list. Elite field in 5K race for title By NICK SULLIVAN 6:30 P.M. RECEPTIONS BOOK SIGNING 7:30 P.M.

DINNERS AUTHOR PRESENTATIONS STOUFFER HOTEL Sports Writer an jczzzzil i i It's not generally the case that a. race with a $10,000 purse draws ST large field of some of the besj runners in America. However, Saturday's Music CitjS Championships at Metro Center has attracted an elite field. "The field is very deep," saidv Ron Merville, chairman of the board of the Nashville Striders. Committed to run in the Men's 51 1 National Championship is Doug Pa4 dilla of Salt Lake City, the American record-holder in the five kilorri- eters.

Padilla set the America" record this past spring with a of 13 minutes, 31 seconds. Padilla will be hard-pressed by'J Terry Brahm of Indianapolis, '1 Jon Sinclair of Fort Collins, and John Turtle of Atlanta. All of -these runners have posted times of less than 13:50, which is fewer than 20 seconds off Padilla's mark. And, these are just the frontline-') troops. At least a dozen more of the nation's top 25 runners will be en'-" tered in The Athletic Congress' rurt for the 5K national championship, the biggest national race ever held in Nashville.

"The runners, when they find out" I i I PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS AT ANY OF THESE LOCATIONS: BAPTIST BOOKSTORE lOlOBroodway BOOKWORLD Hording Mall lion's Head Village Rivergate Mall Brentwood Place BREflTAfiO'S BOOKSTORE Green Hills Village Bellevue Center CHAPTERS BOOKSTORE 1310 Foirview Blvd. West Foirview COKESBURY BOOKSTORE 301 8th Ave. So. DAVIS-KIDD BOOKSELLERS Grace's Plaza 4007 Hillsboro Plaza Green Hills DOUBLEDAY BOOK SHOP Bellevue Center LORI'S BOOKS 118 4th Ave. So.

Franklin RARE, FOREIGN AND MORE 148 Second Ave. North ST. MARY'S BOOKSTORE 1909 West End Ave. WALDENBOOKS Rivergate Mall Hickory Hollow Mall Paddock Race Church Street Centre who coming, don want to come because the field is so deep," said BARBARA MAN RE LB-AUTHOR OF "GET TO THE HEART: MY STORY." She is one of the music industry's most instantly recognized female faces. She is show business veteran of 30 years ond she colls herself hopeless ham ond an occasional show-off." In her autobiography, Mandrell opens her heart and her soul in a book of remarkable candor.

Merville, pointing out that most of the prize money will go to the' winner. "Usually there is just two or three- ranked runners in a race like he said. ANPHEW Afl. GREELEY AUTHOR OF "THE CARDINAL VIRTUES." A Catholic Priest end professor of sociology at the University of Arizona, Greeley has often been criticized for his bestselling novels that have dealt with sexual themes. His books include The Cardinal Sins, Thy Brother's Wife, Saint Valentine's Night, The Catholic Myth and an autobiography.

Confessions of a Parish Priest. MASTER OF CEREMONIES JOHN SEIGENTHALER, Publisher of The Tennessean ond Host of the PBS TV Show, A Word on Merville said that are two rea- sons for the impressive turnout for -this race: It is an American-only field and the national champion ship. "As this is an American-only" field, it is the one race these" runners can race against their peers, so to speak, and find out how -they stack up against them," Mer-M ville said. "With the Olympics conV" 0 ing up in 1992, this is a barometer year for Olympic hopefuls and this is a barometer race." The fact that the race is for the national championship also is important to the runners because of the prestige factor, Merville said. 1 "The shoe companies and other ADVANCE TICKETS: $16 EACH AT THE DOOR: $17 EACH mm sponsors decide who they are going" to back, and by how much, based on their national standings," Merville" said.

"These runners, then, actually" will be running for their lives." 1 Merville said he expects fast- times in the race. The national-class runners won't be alone in the field, as the race is open to all-comers and local" runners are invited to participate. The 9 a.m. men's 5K is just the first -of 1 1 races being held at Metro Ceri-' -ter in conjunction with the 12th an-" nual MetroCenter Corporate Challenge. Among the other races are women's 5K open, a five-mile a two-mile fitness walk, a pyramid relay, a one-mile open, one-mile masters, one mile women's run and" a three-mile relay.

Merville said "doing good" in thg.rt national championship is just as portant to Nashville as it is for the runners competing." "We beat out a lot of places noted for their ability to put on runs," said Merville, who noted that such cities as Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Spokane and-. Seattle also wee bidding for the na-. tional championship. McCULLOUGIi AUTHOR OF "THE FIRST MAN IN ROML An Australian by birth, McCullough is the author of five immensley novels: Jim, The Ihom Birds, An Indecent Obsession, A Creed for Third Millenium ond The Ladies of Missolonghi. Her new book is work of historical fiction that offers on excursion into the early centuries of western civilization.

Sponsored by THE NASHVILLE BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION end THE TENNESSEAN aq.