The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 13

3 The Beacon Journal www.Ohio.com Tuesday, Janmry 26, 1999, Page B5 Super Lodish working on his sixth appearance Continued from Page Bl TUNE IN Jacor Communications won the bidding war to carry tne Browns on radio. The flagship station will be WMJI (105.7-FM). A spokesman for Jacor said the reason WMJI was picked to cover the games "was because it has the strongest FM signal in the area, and the second-strongest in the state." Jacor also said some Browns programming will be heard on WTAM (1100-AM) and WMVX (106.5-FM), but the games themselves will be on WMJI. STILL WAITING The names of the new radio broadcaster are expected to be announced in the next few months. Some of the candidates are believed to be Casey Coleman, Doug Dieken and Mike Snyder.

Jacor said it wanted broadcasters with local ties. TAKE A NUMBER New Browns coach Chris Palmer said he plans to hire "15-to-16 coaches." That includes strength coaches and two special teams coaches. When he coached Division II New Haven, Palmer said he had 180 players in the program and 18 coaches, so he is used to large staffs. TERRY PLUTO Denver Broncos tackle Mike Lodish has grown accustomed to playing in Super Bowls, but it wasn't until last January that he was able to kiss the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Lodish had played on four Buffalo Bills teams that lost before he finally played on a winner last year when Denver defeated Green Bay.

pounds and athletically speaking, isn't much of a head-turner. His size and strength, plus a collegiate career at big-time UCLA, well, all that landed him in the 10th round of the 1990 draft. When a lOth-round pick even makes the team, it's considered a major coup. The Bills kept him around for four Super Bowls, Nos. XXV through XXVII.

Denver picked him up for two more, XXXII and now XXXIII. "I get a great big kick out of it," Lodish said. "I was a late-round pick. People didn't think I'd make it in this league a couple of seasons, much less nine and play in six Super Bowls." His memories of them all, though, have suffered from an excess of riches. He came up blank trying to remember the quirkiest, funniest moments of his five trips.

Others tried to help. "Not even when Bills running back Thurman Thomas lost his helmet?" someone prompted. "That wasn't funny," Lodish said. Most of the hoopla surrounding the games was lost on him. He remembers only two of the national anthem singers, Whitney Houston in his first and Jewel last year, "and the only reason I know that is because I walked by her before the game." In trying to come up with the weirdest questions asked of him, he just couldn't choose.

Palmer said the Bears' defense ranked 14th last year, "which is much better than you'd have thought, given their personnel." In three of the last five years, the Bears have been among the top five teams in stopping the run. "In Bob Slowik, we have a guy who wakes up in the morning thinking about football and goes to bed at night with football on his mind," said Browns president Carmen Policy. "He is 90 percent football, the rest is taking care of his family." Palmer and Slowik have already agreed the Browns will probably start the season with a 4-3 defense, "but you can't be afraid to adjust to a 3-4 or anything else to fit your talent," added Palmer. Slowik, 44, spent six years with the Bears. Before that, he coached defensive backs with the Dallas Cowboys.

In the college ranks, Slowik was an assistant at Florida, Drake, Rutgers and East Carolina. "I grew up in Pittsburgh," Slowik said. "I know the Browns fans, and it will be great to have the Dawg Pound on our side." "I tell you, I've been to so many media days, I'm going to make a board with answers numbered one through 10," he said. "Whatever question I get asked, I'll just point to the best answer. It will be like, 'That question, that's a No.

He's expecting an even bigger flock of questioners this year, what with him setting an NFL record and all. But he's really not complaining. He never figured to be a media star, but handles the job in good humor. He's as bewildered as anyone how he came to be such a Super Bowl regular. "He's a real work-ethic type of guy," said fellow defensive lineman Neil Smith.

"He just does whatever he can to help the team. Whatever he gets, he deserves it" Even so, Smith marvels at Lodish. "I feel great going to my second Super Bowl. I know how hard that was," Smith said. "I can't imagine getting ready for my sixth.

That record will be hard to beat "He'd better help us win this one, though. If I were him, I wouldn't go around bragging Rome has his clones all geeked up BROWNS New coach makes his case for defense Continued from Page Bl ganizations and try to mold them into one unit. He will have to help Palmer put together a solid staff of defensive coaches. "I think Bob can do that," Palmer said. "When I started thinking about the defenses I faced this year (as Jacksonville's offensive coordinator), I asked myself which coaches got the most out of their talent." Two teams came to mind Chicago and the New York Jets.

Bill Belichick is the Jets defensive guru. That left Slowik, who was let go in Chicago when Wan-nstedt fired as head coach. "We never had any real big-name free agents (on defense in Chicago)," Slowik said. "We learned how to make do with what we had." PLUTO Browns' Palmer needs a couple of aces Continued from Page Bl significant name on their roster. Yes, Player Personnel Director Dwight Clark has signed a few free agents, but these are guys who weren't even fit to play this season.

And did you take a good look at the expansion list? There are nine names who were on it that last time there was an expansion draft, back when Jacksonville and Carolina came in the league four years ago. That's nine guys whom teams couldn't even give away back then, so they're trying to do it again -only now, these stiffs are four years older. Then there's Reggie White. You got it, the Reverend Reggie White is on Green Bay's expansion list. And Will Wofford is on Pittsburgh's list Both of these guys are retiring, but they haven't sent their official letters to the league office to say as much.

Therefore, they're eligible for the list. Only a cynic would think that their teams didn't suggest that White and Wofford hold off on those letters until after the expansion draft, thereby enabling their old employers to protect a guy who actually intends to play next year, right? 1 Nothing so underhanded would happen in the NFL, would it? A bad dream This is not meant to dwell on the negative. Rather, it's to explain what President Carmen Policy, Clark and Palmer are facing: Namely, the NFL has stacked the rules against the new Browns. Fans need to understand this. SOCCER GAMES NEEDED St.

Francis DeSales High School is in need of three girls soccer games for the 1999 season. Please contact Molly Feesler, Athletic Director, at 614-267-7808. SOFTBALL CLINICS Mount Union College will be offering Softball clinics for individuals in grades 6-12 on Feb. 12 from noon to 4 p.m. and again on Feb.

21 from noon to 4 p.m. The cost of each clinic is $25. Participants should bring their glove, bat, batting helmet and sliding pants. For further information, contact Coach Douglas at 330-823-4779. HEAD COACH NEEDED Northwest High School is seeking a Varsity Head Football Coach for the 1999 season.

If interested, send resume to Bob Venables, Athletic Director at Northwest High School, 8590 Erie Canal Fulton, 44614. XTC Cabaret JL -ill Associated Press about six Super Bowls if I was only l-for-6." You would be hard-pressed, though, to find Lodish bragging about much of anything. He's not the type. Go ahead. Put him in a lineup with Montana and Namath and Elway and Starr and see if anyone picks him as the king of all Super Bowlers.

"I appreciate the accomplishment," he said. "Heck, I appreciate every chance I get to play this game. I was a long shot. I try not to take anything for granted." Let's hope that means he's kept a scrapbook. and again and again, goading him, baiting him, until Everett pushed the table over and knocked Rome on his butt.

And most of the people watching probably cheered for Everett finally shutting up that annoying geek. But that's all changed. Now he has the radio show and a television show, The Last Word, on FOX Sports News, which is seen on FOX Sports Ohio cable here. Rome always preaches patience to new listeners. Give him time.

He'll grow on you. Like peat moss, maybe, but he'll grow. "You know," says Andy Mohnickey, "it's interesting. He's kind of faddish. But he is always interesting." Mohnickey came to the tour stop with his son, Mark, a frequent caller to Rome's show.

He realizes this is not quantum physics, that sometimes it crosses the boundaries into bad taste or stupidity. But so what? People who are sick of listening to music, or tired of Rush Limbaugh and other stale talk-radio voices, well, they're looking for a fresh voice, an interesting voice, a knowledgeable voice to carry them through the afternoon. They turn on Romey. They run smack. It is something fans relate to, players relate to, even coaches relate to.

Some even call the show themselves. Many, like the Cavs' Bob Sura, like the Indians' Jaret Wright, are regulars at running smack. "It's an acquired taste," says one of his fans, O'Boyle, who listens with his wife at work. "It's kind of like scotch." Love him. Hate him.

See him as the seamy underbelly of sports, of our society. See him as the last bastion of truth in a media-saturated world. But witness the line of people waiting for Rome's autograph after Saturday's show, the one that ran up the stairs of the Convocation Center and onto the concourse. Witness the people standing above, shooting photographs. Witness the posse of policemen guarding the area like this is Mick Jagger they are protecting.

This man has hit on something. He's struck a nerve. He's sparked such passion, such venom. And there is the thought that perhaps Romey is our future, that we are headed to a place where smack runs through us like a dirty river and mercy is washed away. heard that aspect of the game Huntington said.

"Before, they were just worrying about pitching. Now, we flipped it to get the pitchers inside the hitter's mind. Those are some of the things that the players learn during the month." NOTEBOOK There will be a little international flavor with the Aeros this season as Daisuke Arakl, a 34-year-old former professional player in Japan, will be a guest pitching coach. He will also travel with the team. "He wants to leam as much as he can about the game of baseball from an American viewpoint, so he can take his knowledge back to Japan and be the best coach there that he can be," said Araki's interpreter, Mike Nakabay-ashi.

Daisuke was at the Indians' Winter Development Program throwing batting practice to players. Cleveland Browns coach Chris Palmer is working 17-hour days in an effort to make up for lost ground. They need to know that Palmer seems like a wonderful guy with an incredible work-ethic and impeccable references. But the man is in his first year as a head coach. He needs plenty of experienced assistants, but all the delays mean that Palmer will not have his dream staff come training camp.

That's just a fact As he admitted, "Some guys I like are with other teams." Then add there are teams playing games with the expansion list, while the NFL winks and looks the other way. Why is this happening? Because many NFL owners are scared of Lerners money and the Browns fan support. They worry 1 about Policy's track record of manipulating the salary cap to include just one more big-time free agent. They know it won't take long for the Browns to become one of the NFL's premier franchises, so they try to postpone the inevitable with their delays and their rules. In the meantime, Palmer makes his calls, answers his phone and searches for coaches -and a secretary.

"I have a coach I'm interviewing who is all set to come to Cleveland," he said. "All he has to do is get his wife to agree." To Palmer, that's a given. "When it comes to this town and how it loves football, what's not to like?" he asked. New Oriental Staff 'Open 2i Hours 3790 Mahoning Ave. Youngstown, unavr new mngi.

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Turn right, 110 mile on the right Urenw ew-OJ J3 XTCVideoJy 24K3) Arcode'V UnlimHcdS 1j mm I. 'rm JOCELYN WILLIAMSBeacon Journal Finally, sports talk show host Jim Rome has someone he can look up to as he runs his smack. Of course, that's because the Cavs' Zydrunas llgauskas is head and shoulders taller than Rome. He is the future of sports talk? Er, right Continued from Page Bl him, who talk like him, who proclaim themselves clones and do it proudly. Some paid good money for free tickets.

Some got here seven hours early, at 8 in the morning, to tailgate, and now they are swilling beer from plastic cups and waving obscene signs and scream-, ing themselves hoarse, this mass of hardcore talk-radio addicts, the pulse of sports as we careen into the next century. Different one Jim Rome has his own security guard. He has groupies. He has a CD. He hangs with Cavs coach Mike Fratello.

His T-shirts sold for $20 on the upper concourse at Saturday's "Tour Stop," and scalpers sold the free tickets for as much as $100. A hundred bills. For what? Just to see him, to listen to him "run smack," as he calls his version of trash talk, for an hour about Richard Jewell, about the female anatomy, about himself, about Art Modell and Baltimore and Houston and more about himself. To watch him cozy with athletes and coaches, men like Fratello, like Indians manager Mike Hargrove, smart people who are like so many others, who have fallen hook, line and sinker for what Romey can give. And what is that? What can this man contribute to society that no one else does? "He's funny," says Gale O'Boyle, a middle-aged man from Hiram.

"He's different," says Dave Dunlap, a young man from North Canton. "He's the first guy who said to go ahead and tell it like it is," says Sam Rizzardo, a.k.a. The 18-Wheeler for Smack, a groupie from So-Cal, a.k.a. Southern California. Some of what they say makes sense.

So much of talk radio has become airwaves clogged with Petes from Poughkeepsie and Marges from Madison, people with nothing to say and hosts with nowhere to go. It is a jaded world. Sports is no exceptioa Players choke coaches, then sue. Everyone holds out for money. Coaches and general managers and owners say one thing, then do another.

People are tired of it. They want truth. They are crying for a voice. With Rome, they have a voice. It is obnoxious and unsettling and so far from politically correct that many of his references are unprintable in this newspaper.

It is Dennis Miller meets Vanilla Ice meets Andrew Dice Clay. And it's what the people want. "He says what we're thinking," says Dan Kilbane, from Bedford. What they are thinking about is smack, which is what Rome's all about, and in case you're already lost, running smack is like talking trash, but there is an attitude to it, a nastiness and humor and driving intensity that cannot be mimicked without careful practice. And you may not like it, but this is what sports has become.

Everyone talks smack. Even in high school. Disrespect flies from coast to coast like mashed potatoes in a food fight. It can be classless and backbiting and arrogant. But if it is done right, and if it is not taken seriously, it can also make you fall off your chair or run your car off the road, laughing.

"We always ran smack to each other, even before Jim came along," says The 18-Wheeler for Smack, Rizzardo. "With Jim, it was finally finding the socket for a plug. Once the electricity was there, it just rolled." People try running smack every day on Rome's show, which airs afternoons on stations in Cleveland and Canton. Many fail. Then they get run, which means they get cut off, and finally they get ridiculed.

There is no mercy here. Mercy is for the weak. That's fine. The clones understand. Because while it may seem like Rome is cloaked in earnestness while on the air, he knows and they know that none of this should be taken personally.

The idea is to skewer everyone. That way, no one gets hurt. So he calls Christian Laettner "Christine" and John Elway "Mr. Ed" and he torments NASCAR fans mercilessly and calls Sacramento "Sacracrapo" and calls elderly people "blue hairs" and doesn't really care who he hurts in the process, because no one can say they're being spared the truth. Large clone-dom Jim Rome's show is syndicated on 130 stations, from Cleveland to Corvallis.

He has a beautiful wife and money in the bank and it's hard to believe this is the same guy who just a couple of years ago got pushed over by Jim Everett, of all people. That was on his ESPN2 cable television talk show. Rome called Everett "Chris," a reference to female tennis legend Chris Evert, something that Everett, a mediocre NFL quarterback, probably should have taken as a compliment. But then Rome said it again Tribe Winter program has been a huge success Continued from Page Bl Sean DePaula and Jimmy Hamilton-all pitchers who joined the Aeros late in the season also are participating in the development program. And one of the many speakers brought in this week was minor-league hitting instructor Dave Keller.

"He talked to pitchers today about what hitters are trying to do in certain situations, and some of our young pitchers hadn't really JLJ tlU JLJ.