Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 102

iy i'i mm i i' 'it i I I "1" 1 i r1 REPUBLIC THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC Saturday, August 8, 1981 BSSS 2SSE35SSSE nfrac eTV Gobi 1 3-year co encan Suns, Am Colangelo said he thought cable television won't hurt attendance. The Suns are the seventh NBA team to venture into pay television, a media outlet that some say will lead to a financial boom in professional sports. The Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Seattle SuperSonics, Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs already have gotten into the business. The Hawks are seen regularly on WTBS, which is owned by the team owner, Ted Turner. The Knicks have had contracts with several cable companies in the New York area for several years.

The 76ers recently signed with PRISM, a Pennsylvania cable company. The SuperSonics will start their own channel this season. The Celtics and National Hockey League Hartford Whalers have started a New England channel. And the Spurs are involved in an operation that is similar to the Suns-American Cable package. Cable, G2 Next year, the channel's schedule will include about 20 Suns games at Memorial Coliseum.

The Suns have the option to ask for more than 20 games, and American Cable has the option to televise fewer than 20. "Those options will be determined by several factors," Colangelo said. "But it will be in that neighborhood." As the number of suscribers increases, the number of Suns games on American Cable probably will increase, Colangelo said. There also is a possibility that American Cable could schedule another game of special interest. There would be an additional charge for the game.

"Let's say somebody like the Celtics come to town, they're hot and not on the original schedule," Colangelo said. "Because of the fan interest, we could schedule the game and charge per the view. "That may be a year or so away, however, because of the technology." year of a five-year contract with KPNX-TV (Channel 12). The KPNX contract calls for the broadcast of 15 games a year and playoff games that are not carried by CBS. Merrill said that the Suns will be the cornerstone of a new channel that American Cable plans to launch in the fall and call the Arizona Sports Programming Network (ASPN).

Merrill said that the channel will carry soccer, auto racing, horse racing, boxing, softball and high school, junior-college and major-college events. He also said plans call for talk shows and interviews. "I consider this an extremely important development," Merrill said. "We've been talking to Jerry Colangelo about this for two years now. We want to get into sports coverage on a local level." Subscribers who now pay $8.50 a month for the service will have to pay a fee to acquire the local sports channel, Merrill said.

That fee has not been determined, he said. Neither Colangelo nor American Cable President Bruce Merrill would disclose the contract's financial terms. Colangelo said, however, that he did not expect ON-TV to match the contract. "I think that the terms are somewhat prohibitive," he said. "In terms of size, potential and projected growth, this is an excellent contract and commitment for both parties." Whitman said ON-TV has 34,200 subscribers.

Merrill said American Cable has about 70,000 subscribers in Tempe and Paradise Valley. The company hopes to have expanded to north-central Phoenix by September. Colangelo and Merrill said that if projected studies on growth in the Valley are accurate, American Cable could have 200,000 subscribers in three or four years. Colangelo said that the Suns' commitment to pay television does not mean that they have any immediate plans to abandon commercial television. The team is entering the second By.

Norm Frauenheim Republic Staff The Phoenix Suns and American Cable Television Inc. on Friday signed a 13-year contract calling for about 20 home games to be televised during the 1981-82 National Basketball Association season. The agreement is contingent on ON-TV's right lo match the contract. In a clause that is identical to the NBA's new right-of-first-refusal rule regarding free agents, ON-TV has 15 days to match the contract with American Cable Television or lose the rights to the Suns. ON-TV, a subscription network that carried 12 home games last year, had a two-year contract with the Suns that expired in March.

"ON-TV has been advised of the terms and conditions of the American Cable contract," Suns General Manager Jerry Colangelo said. "They have 15 days to respond before the new contract can be finalized." Rich Whitman, ON-TV's vice president and general manager, had no comment. mps, leagues fight over pay Sil lPPiliiiiiliili Some players, managers say split season favors 1 st-half winners i MMmmm mmmmmmmsmmsmmm "I want the umpires on equal footing with the players for this series," Phillips said. Also still being negotiated is how much the umpires will lose in salary as a result of the players' strike. They got full paychecks for both July and August with the understanding that some money might have to be given back to the leagues when a settlement was reached.

Originally, it was understood that the umps would not be paid beyond 30 days of the strike. Negotiations between Phillips and league presidents Lee MacPhail and Chub Feeney have narrowed the gap. At the moment, the leagues are arguing that the umps should lose a total of three days pay for the players' strike. Phillips has said he will accept one lost day. Phillips said earlier reports out of San Diego that the umpires might boycott the Sunday's All-Star Game in Cleveland are "almost certainly" untrue.

He indicated that he would meet with the umpires today and that he expected them to work the All-Star Game. However, American League umpire Steve Palermo, interviewed on ESPN, the Associated Press Even though the players strike is over, major-league baseball is finding labor peace elusive. Now American and National League officials are battling with the umpires. Because of the addition of a new tier of playoffs with the split-season concept, the two leagues must negotiate new terms with the umpires. Richie Phillips, counsel for the Major League Umpires Association, says the two sides are "light years apart" from an agreement.

Phillips said the league presidents want four-man umpiring teams for the miniplay-offs and are offering $4,000 a man. Phillips said four umps would be fine if the teams each use only seven players. He wants six umpires assigned, the same number that is assigned to league championship and World Series games, and he wants each to be paid $6,500 plus 10 percent of gross revenues from the first three games of each series. He bases those demands on the players' miniseries package, which he said provides for game salaries plus 60 percent of the gate for the first three games. cable-sports network, said that if the umpires are not allowed to keep the salary that was paid them on July 1, they will not work on Sunday and may not report for the beginning of the regular season on Monday.

The umps weren't baseball's only prob- lem heading into the All-Star game. Several clubs and players still were bristling over the split-season concept adopted Thursday. Under the plan, the rest of the schedule, which begins Monday, will be treated as a second season. All teams will begin even, and second-half division winners will meet the division leaders as of June 12 in miniplayoffs. Winners will meet in the league championship series, which will determine who'll play in the World Series.

The addition of an extra tier of playoffs has moved the postseason schedule back one full week, creating the possibility that, without rainouts, the seventh game of the 1 World Series would be played on Oct.28. "It stinks," said John McNamara, manager of the Cincinnati Reds, whose Baseball, G2 p.w I4i Snub infuriates Howe injuries. Last year, he played with a broken jaw. National League Manager Dallas Green of Philadelphia chose Pittsburgh's Bill Mad-lock, hitting .326, to back up Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt on the All-Star team. Howe was picked as first alternate in case someone gets hurt.

Although the New York Mets' Joel Youngblood has been listed as the league-leading hitter at .359, he did not have enough at bats before the strike to qualify. Howe had a 23-game hitting streak before the strike, breaking outfielder Cesar Ced-eno's club record, and he had committed only six errors in 54 games at third base. Howe's teammates share his anger. Outfielder Terry Puhl said, "I really feel for him. Good grief! How can that be?" United Press International HOUSTON Normally unassuming Art Howe, the National League's leading hitter but left off the All-Star team, angrily says he will not participate even as an alternate.

"I was leading the league in hitting. What the hell do you have to do to make the team? I may never make it now," Howe said. "They named me as an alternate, but if someone gets hurt and can't go, I'm not going. "I guess I'm hurt, yeah, because I knew I couldn't do any more to make the team. If I was fifth in the league or something, I wouldn't say anything.

But you tell me what 1 have to do to get on the All-Star team. I don't know." Howe, 34, has spent five years laboring in major-league obscurity. This year was his first opportunity to play every day at third base, and he was batting .344. He has battled Oriole in flight Baltimore second baseman Rich Dauer leaps to get his throw off to first in hopes of catching Manny Trillo. Rose was forced, Trillo was safe.

I over Philadelphia's Pete Rose on Friday night Art Howe Murphy keeps 1 -shot lead; Nicklaus 4 back Today Sports broadcasts Television Golf green when the siren signaling another storm delay blared. He continued his stroke and made the putt. Play first was stopped at 12:50 p.m. (Arizona time), the same time it was stopped in Thursday's opening round. The suspension lasted 55 minutes, the same as Thursday.

And like Thursday, a second storm prevented completion of the round. Play was called for the day at 3:57 p.m. (Arizona time). Twenty-three players were still on the course and will return at 5 a.m. today (Arizona time) to complete their second round before the start of third-round play.

The overnight suspension left in doubt where the cutoff point for the final two rounds would fall. But it was certain that Masters champion Tom Watson, the Professional Golfers' Association Player of the Year the past four seasons, would not make it. Watson, who never has won this tournament, the last of this year's majors, double-bogeyed the final hole after hitting into the water. Associated Press PULiUTK, Ga. Bob Murphy returned from a storm delay to finish with a 69 that enabled him to retain a one-shot lead Friday in the rain-plagued and unfinished second round of the 63rd PGA national championship.

"I'm a happy leader," Murphy said after posting a 135 total, "5 under par on the Atlanta Athletic Club "I'd sure rather be leading by one than trailing by And even though defending champion Jack Nicklaus was in contention, Murphy said he had "a good feeling about things." "I'm doing enough things right," said Murphy, who hasn't won a tour title in six years. "And I'm making s0m6 putts. I'm particularly pleased about my putting. That's been my problem over the past two years." was on the backswing of his putt on the 15th "No excuses," Watson said. "I just didn't do anything well.

I scored about as high as I could. I just couldn't make anything happen." The siren that signaled the first delay didn't disturb Murphy's stroke on the 15th. "I knew what I was going to do, so I just went ahead and knocked it right in the middle of the cup," he said. The putt gave him a share of the lead, and, after rain, wind and lightning had scoured the course, he knocked a 6-iron to within 8 feet and sank the putt for a birdie at 16 that gave him the lead. Sharing second, a stroke back at 136, are Larry Nelson and two non-winners, Bob Eastwood and long-hitting Dan Pohl, a former University of Arizona player.

Nelson, from nearby Expenses take toll on LPGA Tour PGA Championship, Ch. 3, noon. Tennis U. S. Clay Court Championship, Ch.

10, Boxing 10-round bout, Rocky Lockridge vs. Juan LaPorte, Ch. 10, 1:30 p.m. Box de Mexico, Ch. 33, 7 p.m.

Soccer Futbol Soccer, Ch. 33, 12:30 p.m. Soccer, Ch. 8, 3 p.m. Others This Week in Baseball, Ch.

12, 10:30 a.m. The Summer Season, highlights: British track and field championships; Meadowlark Lemon and the Bucketeers; German Grand Prix Formula One auto race from Hochenheim, Germany; World of Outlaws sprint-car races, Ch. 12, 11 a.m. Wide World of Sports: 1981 Hambletonian from the Meadowlands race track in New Jersey featured, Ch.3,2p.m. Freedom's Defense: America's Cup 1980, Ch.8, 2 p.m.

i Esta Semana En Beisbol, Ch. 33, 2:30 p.m. Radio Pro baseball Game One, 1965 World Series: Los Angeles vs. Minnesota, KTAR (620), 1 p.m. Phoenix at Salt Lake City, KXIV (1400), 6 p.m.

Cincinnati at California, KWAO-FM (106.3), 6:40 p.m.. Pro football San Diego vs. StLouis, KCKY (1150), 5:50 p.m. Dallas vs. Green Bay, KTAR (620), 6 p.m.

1 I By Bob Cohn Republic Staff IV-'. Like their male counterparts, members 6f the Ladies Professional Golf Association finding that the pot of gold at the end of the fairway rattles with a mostly empty sound. The problem is expenses. Lots of them. Golfers shell out money for transportation, food, lodging, caddie fees and tips, leaving a barely recognizable portion of their winnings.

Some Professional Golfers' Association members, such as Larry Ziegler and Dave Hill, recently announced they are quitting the tour because of the rising cost of paying for play. Gents, step aside. You are not alone. A Nancy Loflez-Melton or a JoAnne Carner earns enough to consider women's golf a lucrative game. But few are in such elite company, and for them, the tour is a struggle to stay financially afloat.

"People think, when they read that we make 30 or 40 thousand dollars, 'Wow, that's really But you're looking at that much in expenses," said Alice Ritz-man, an LPGA touring pro who lives in Phoenix. She was speaking by telephone Friday from Wheeling, W. where she was playing in the West Virginia Classic. Ritzman, 29, is in her fourth year on the LPGA Tour. In 1980, she said, her income totaled $52,000.

Of that, $36,000 was won on the tour. The rest came from outside tournaments, endorsements and pro-am competition. After expenses, however, Ritzman estimated she paid income tax on $10,00 And that was a good year. The previous season, Ritzman, with tour winnings of $24,600, lost money. Although the losses were written off on the tax forms, this hardly qualifies as a profitable venture.

"There are maybe 45 girls who make money or break even," she said. "And there's about 120 who don't. I was 38th on the money list, and I came out a little bit ahead." So far in 1981, Ritzman said, she has earned about $30,000, a pace below that of last year. Still, she has not compromised. Although most struggling golfera scrimp and save by forsaking motels for complimentary lodging at private homes, Ritzman almost always goes for the comparative luxury of the motel.

"When I have friends, I stay vh them," Expenses, G2 Alice Ritzman.