The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 11

Jtcpstcf BUSINESS OH 5S DAVID WITHE, executive sports editor, 515-284-8130 Wednesday, July 3, 1991 Anociittd Prt 'V mmmmmm m-rmm'M v. 3 s' Varsho's hits haunt Gubs; Rains stall VJimbledon; Mum washes out mmmsmtm mtmmmmm y-s i Jit ZTM 1 1 7 v. i. I Jkt i II: fit -'a, i iiiiB M--, Cm) 77r 7 7, v7- '7 4PJ vv slugged from the baseline and came in only when she had Navratilova very deep and off balance. Capriati's most effective weapons proved to be her return of service and forehand passing shots.

In his match, Edberg said he could see "the greatness out there" in McEnroe's wrist-flick volleys and sweeping serves, yet knew the 32-year-old couldn't keep it up. McEnroe's histrionics and complaints started early, a sure sign he was headed for trouble. "You want every call to be right, because he's tough to break," McEnroe said. "He volleys real well behind his serve, and I had some opportunities. "That's why, when people make mistakes by that much, it throws you a little bit, because you hope they're as into the match as you are.

Every little point counts on grass. You get up 0-15, and it just puts a little bit of thinking in a person's mind. I think I was making him feel a little bit uncomfortable." But the complaints became a distraction for McEnroe, his concentration wandered and his tennis collapsed. Edberg turned up his game a notch, playing flawlessly all over the court, as he won 15 straight points in one stretch and 20 of 22 to take the second set in 23 minutes. While McEnroe moaned or stared at linesmen, Edberg jauntily flipped his racket and played on.

McEnroe finally broke Edberg's serve for the only time in the match and went ahead 3-0 in the third set. But Edberg went on another surge, winning 20 of 25 points to take the next five games, and closed out the match at love in the last game with a service winner. McEnroe's final outburst the one that could result in a fine came in the eighth game of the third set, when he cursed repeatedly at a linesman WIMBLEDON since he was called up from Iowa. out San Francisco's Tony Perezchica. Rick Wilkins, who thought he would be playing In the minor leagues all year, has been a pleasant surprise as the Wilkins' performance with Cubs proves Essian's faith was justified 1 i "Let me teach him to be a catcher.

Let him be my personal project." There was more discussion, then Essian won his argument. "All right," Zisk said. "Wilkins to Iowa." The scene now switches to New York, where Essian was meeting with General Manager Jim Frey only hours after being named to replace Don Zimmer as manager of the Chicago Cubs. "I want Rick Wilkins," Essian said, not one bit shy at making request despite only 2 hours of seniority. Essian knew the sorry state of catching at the big-league level.

Joe Girardi bad back, Damon Berry-hill arm nor bat what they were before rotator-cuff surgery, Hector Villanueva trouble throwing out runners not even home runs can make up for. "I need a catcher," Essian told Frey, who replied, "You got him." After being rescued twice by Essian, Wilkins hasn't let anyone down. In 23 games, Wilkins has a .281 batting average, four home runs and 11 runs-batted-in. And he appears to be no Band-aid solution to the troubled catching of the Cubs. "Right now, he's the guy," Essian said.

"But it remains to be seen what happens when Girardi comes back. And if Berryhill starts hitting and throwing like he did before surgery, I'd say we have a nice problem." high bids could current structure and replace it with an facility with a picnic area adding an additional 400 seats. In addition, the construction companies provided a variety of alternative bids that would raise the seating capacity to 10,000 and provide other amenities. Base bids ranged from a low of 8.5 million from M.A. Mortenson Co.

of Minneapolis to a high of 9.6 million by The Weitz Co. of Des Moines. Alternate bids ranged from a low of 110.4 million by Mortenson to 11.4 million by Weitz. Other companies bidding on the project were Neuman Brothers and Ringland-Johnson-Crowley Co. But those bids delivered a stunning blow to club owners and city officials, who had projected the cost at considerably less.

Renovation was scheduled to begin at the end of the base Chicago Cubs' catcher Here Wilkins tags WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND (AP) Rain interrupted this wettest of Wimbledons again, too late to save John McEnroe from a stormy exit and too soon to suit Martina Navra-tilova. The rain pelted Centre Court on Tuesday just as Navratilova was scratching back against a fusillade of forehands by Jennifer Capriati, the girl with a look of a future champion. Capriati didn't play in awe of Navratilova, a nine-time winner of Wimbledon, in taking the first set, 6-4. She fell behind a break at 3-2 when the rain came. Their match will be completed today.

Stefan Edberg endured McEnroe's tantrums and rare moments of artistry to beat the three-time champion, A controversy developed over whether McEnroe would be fined for abusive language toward a linesman that was broadcast, albeit with bleeps, on British television. The only punishment McEnroe received during the match was from Edberg's serves and volleys. Jim Courier and David Wheaton, the vanguard of a new generation of Americans making their mark in men's tennis, joined Edberg in the quarterfinals along with Michael Stich. Guy Forget led Tim Mayotte, 4-3, in the fourth set, and Thierry Champion led Derrick Rostagno, 4-1, in the fifth set when the rain hit. The women's top seed, Steffi Graf, had already left after reaching the semifinals for the fifth straight year with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over No.

7 Zina Garrison. The American beat Graf in the semifinals here last year before losing to Navratilova. Fifth-seeded Mary Joe Fernandez reached the semifinals for the first time, beating fourth-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, 7-5, 3-6, 6-1. Capriati, 15, displayed as much power and poise as the 34-year-old Navratilova, but offered a contrasting style. Whereas Navratilova charged the net at every opportunity, Capriati ill; wmm- 3 mv mmmmm I MM irateswin CHICAGO, ILL.

(AP) Gary Var-sho always thought he would hit his first major-league home run at Wrig- ley Field. A member of the I Chicago Cubs' orga-1 nization from 1982 ff until he was traded I ,1 last spring to Pitts M4a burgh, Varsho hit two home runs, a triple and a sacri-1 fice fly Tuesday I afternoon to drive in six runs, leading the Pirates past the RYNE SANDBERO Cubs, 13-4. Varsho had driven in five runs this season. "I put a lot of time here and I always thought my first home run would be in Wrigley Field," said Varsho, who spent parts of each of the last three seasons with the Cubs. "I was very excited with the first home run.

It meant a lot." Varsho also was pleased because his parents, brother and sister were at the game. "We wanted Varsho because he is an experienced pinch hitter," Pirates Manager Jim Leyland said of a trade that sent Steve Carter to the Cubs. "We gave up a good young player to get him. He knows his role and accepts it." The Pirates seemed to know their roles in avenging a 6-5 loss in 13 innings Monday night. The 22 hits were the most for the Pirates since they had 23 in 1979 against Philadelphia.

The team record is 27 in 1922, also against Philadelphia. Bobby Bonilla and Mike LaValliere each had four hits. The Cubs not only lost the game but also second baseman Ryne Sandberg, who bruised his right hand stealing second base in the first inning. He was hit by the catcher's throw. X-rays did not show any broken bones.

Reports were Sandberg might miss five to seven days. "I'll be back as soon as I'm able to handle a bat," he said. "That should be in a day or two. It's not broken." His status for the All-Star Game Tuesday in Toronto is doubtful. The outcome was costly to starter Shawn Boskie, who allowed 1 1 hits and eight runs in three innings and was sent to the triple-A Iowa Cubs after the game.

The Cubs purchased the contract of right-hander Laddie Renfroe from the Iowa Cubs. Cubs outfielder Doug Dascenzo made his third relief appearance of the season, shutting out the Pirates in the ninth inning while allowing one hit. In four innings, Dascenzo has not allowed a run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts. BOX SCORE: Pag 23. put together the actual design of the stadium, which is hoped to trigger even further recreational development of the downtown riverside area.

In February, city officials approved taking bids for construction of a stadium at an estimated cost of $8 million. They acknowledged, however, that a smaller facility might have to be built initially because of higher costs. Carney said he and club officials had hoped the construction bids for an stadium would be about $8 million or low enough to complete the first phase of the renovation and then expansion to 10,000 as attendance Increased. Unfortunately, even the lowest of SEC TAYLOR Pieose turn to Page 4S Wilkins is making his statement, not only defensively, but with his bat. He hit home runs in three consecutive games and his four have been hit in the past eight games.

"The hitting has really surprised me," Wilkins said. "I've jumped out to a solid start. I've seemed to have caught myself in a hot streak at the right time. But I've got to improve on the other aspects of my game." Actually, Essian says, Wilkinb is being tough on himself, which isn't all bad. Sunday against St.

Louis, Wilkins threw out three of four trying to steal second. Seventy-five percent against the team that is second in the Nation-al League in stolen bases isn't bad. "Sure we tested him," Cardinals Manager Joe Torre said. "Who wouldn't? I was a catcher once. I know what it's like to be picked on when you're a rookie." Barry Bonds was 3-for-3 stealing bases Monday night.

"I stole them off the pitcher," Bonds said. Essian agreed. "The runner was getting a pretty good jump off the bag," Essian said. "Each play was close. Each time the ball was where it was supposed to be.

The runners just slid in ahead of the WILKINS Please turn to Page 2S 7 s- 7 4 By RANDY PETERSON Rwiittr Stiff Wrltar CHICAGO, ILL. It was late in spring training when the minor-league instructors and managers in the Chicago Cubs organization were meeting in the office of Richie Zisk, then the team's minor-league coordinator. Like the older youngsters In sand-lot games, the managers were choosing up sides only in this instance, they were determining where each of the 127 major-league hopefuls would play. This guy to Iowa, that one to Charlotte, that guy to Winston-Salem. The process continued until each of the minor-league teams were stocked with the 23 players.

Those who remained were told to get "real jobs." Most were selected without discussion. The qualities of others were discussed similarly to Rotisserie League managers making their preseason draft selections. When the name Rick Wilkins came up, the first inkling was to return him to double-A Charlotte to work on what some people said were questionable defensive skills as well as a .230 batting average. Jim Essian, the Iowa manager at the time, spoke. "Give me the kid," Essian said.

Unexpectedly ByTOMWITOSKY RtgHtir Stall Writer Scheduled renovation of Sec Taylor Stadium later this year could be delayed or scaled back further as a result of higher-than-expected construction bids, a city official acknowledged Tuesday. But City Manager Cy Carney said he still hoped city officials and the owners of the Iowa Cubs could find a solution to the financing bugaboo that has plagued the rebuilding of the 43-year-old, city-owned baseball stadium for several years. "I am hopeful we can complete this project because we know the community voted to have it done," Carney said. "At the same time, the costs of the base project are higher than we hoped and beyond the resources that we now have available." On Monday, city officials opened competitive bid proposals from four construction companies to raze the RICK WILKINS delay Sec Taylor project Pieose turn to Page 3S Anoclalid Prni mm 7r.7.-..- 't rtEPonT Baseball AMERICAN LEAGUE ball season. "We are all disappointed," said Ken Grandquist, president of the Iowa Cubs.

"It is about S2 million more than we thought it would be for the whole project, and I know we don't have the money to cover it." Grandquist said he and the architects for the project HOK Sports Facilities Management had no explanation for the high bids. "We just don't know, and we are trying to find out," Grandquist said. Last August, Des Moines voters approved the sale of $6.6 million in revenue bonds to help pay for the stadium project. At the time, city officials and club owners believed they could expand seating from the current capacity of 7,700 up to 12,000 for about $7.5 million. But those figures began to change as architects and officials began to John McEnroe reacts with disbelief daring his fourth-round Wimbledon loss to Stefan Edberg Tuesday.

Edberg beat the three-time champion In straight sets. NATIONAL LEAGUE TV Today 9s.rn.lQ) Tennis Wimbledon, men's singles quarterfinal. 1:15 p.m. (W5R) Baseball Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs. 4 p.m.

Qjjjjp Tennis Wimbledon, men's singles quarterfinals, (Tape) 7:30 p.m. (SlT) Baseball Oakland at Texas. 10:30 p.m. 0 Tennis Wimbledon Highlights. (Tape) Detroit 4 Baltimore 3 Cincinnati 6 Atlanta 3 New York 8 Cleveland 5 New York 2 Montreal 1 Toronto 4 Minnesota 3 Pittsburgh 13 Chicago 4 Boston at Milwaukee St.

touts 6 Philadelphia 1 Oakland at Texas tos Angeles at San Diego Kansas City at California Houston at San Francisco Chicago at Seattle Foreman, Tyson close to fight deal HOUSTON, TEXAS (AP) A heavyweight fight between former boxing champions Mike Tyson and George Foreman could be held later this year in Las Vegas, promoter Don King said. "We're very close to consummating this deal," King, who manages Tyson, said after negotiating Monday with Roy Foreman, George's brother and manager. King said the fight could generate more than the $86 million collected for last April's bout between Evander Holyfield and Foreman. He said both fighters would split the revenue equally, with each receiving more than $15 million. GASTINEAU SACKED.

Former NFL All-Pro Mark Gasti-neau was left without any assets Tuesday after a judge sacked him for 85 weeks of back child support and other payments in finalizing his stormy 4Vi-year divorce case. Lisa Gastineau, 31, was granted the divorce on the grounds of "cruel and inhuman treatment" by her husband. MORE SURGERY FOR COSELL. Sports commentator Howard Cosell underwent further chest surgery Monday in New York as part of his treatment for cancer, a statement from his family confirmed Tuesday. Cosell, 73, who gained fame and notoriety on ABC's Monday Night Football and as a boxing announcer for many Muhammad All fights, had a malignant tumor removed from his chest on June 10.

He returned to the air for ABC Radio a week later. Doctors said his prognosis is good. KENDALL IMPROVES. Race car driver Tommy Kendall, recuperating from a weekend crash at Watkins Glen, N.Y., was upgraded to good condition Tuesday. Kendall was flown to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis so that the surgery could be performed by Terry Trammel, who specializes in treating race car injuries.

Kendall won the Trans-Am division of the Greater Des Moines Grand Prix in 1990. Quotes of the Day "I think it's a little late for John. I think he played his best tennis in 1983, 1984, 1985. He played unbelievable tennis. He's lost a little bit of speed and he's not consistent." Stefan Edberg, who whipped John McEnroe, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 6-4, Tuesday at Wimbledon.

McEnroe blamed bad line calls and bad seedings for his loss, despite not getting a passing shot past Edberg and infrequently winning a point on Edberg's serve. "I think I was making him uncfcmf ortable." McEnroe. 1 ARKANSAS SUSPENDS FIFTH BASKETBALL PLAYER. Arkansas center Oliver Miller will miss at least two games after an off-campus incident, basketball coach Nolan Richardson said Tuesday. A student, Monte Duncan, 23, said in an affidavit that he and Miller got into an argument outside a night club, Miller shoved him, hit him, and then dented his new car.

Miller denied hitting Duncan, but admitted denting the car and offered to pay for the damages. Teammates Todd Day, Darrell Hawkins, Elmer Martin and Roosevelt Wallace were already suspended after an alleged rape in an athletic dormitory in February..