The Galveston Daily News from Galveston, Texas • Page 17

4-B THE GALVESTON DAILY NEWS WEDNESDAY MORNING, IULY 31, 1991 Johnson proves worth out of the 'doghouse' Associated Press SAN ANTONIO After his 1990 performance, Houston Oilers cor- nerback Richard Johnson could have said, "I told you so." But he didn't. It was enough to get out of former coach Jerry Glanville's doghouse and prove he could play in the NFL. "I don't look at it like 'I told you it's just a matter of going out and taking advantage of the opportunity," Johnson said. "I wouldn't say I was surprised. I knew I could excel in this league.

It was just a matter of getting the chance to show it. "It's just unfortunate that I had to wait five years to get a chance to get out there." Johnson was the Oilers' first- round selection in 1985 but missed his rookie training camp because of a contract dispute. Johnson was never able to impress Glanville and spent five years languishing on special teams with an occasional start. New coach Jack Pardee took a fresh look at Johnson and gave him a fulltime chance at corner- back to demonstrate his skills. The results have been pleasing, team officials say.

Johnson started all 16 regular season games and led the AFC with eight interceptions, returning one 30 yards for a touchdown against Cincinnati. His interception total was second in the NFL and marked the most interceptions for an Oiler since Mike Reinfeldt's 12 in 1919. Johnson was sixth on the team with 70 tackles and tied with cor- nerback Cris Dishman for the team lead with 16 passes defended. "Last year was a rookie year for me, playing 16 games and not knowing what to expect," Johnson said. "This year I know what to expect.

The confidence level is higher and I'm ready to go." An improved coach-player relationship made the difference, he said. "It was night and day for me," Johnson said. "I was put in a situation where a coaching staff believed in me, gave me the opportunity and had faith in me. "I believe in the coaching staff because they believe in me. The feeling is mutual." Johnson benefited from Pardee's move from a 3-4 alignment, which placed greater pressure on the cornerbacks, to a 4-3 defense.

"We went through a big transformation from one defense to another style," Johnson said. "I think it took us awhile to get used to the new coaching system and the way they ran their program. "I think toward the end of the season we got familiar with what they wanted and they got used to the personnel they had." Johnson tries to consider the positive aspects of five years in the Oilers doghouse. "I certainly learned a lot of patience," he said. Backup quarterbacks waging heated battle Staff photo by Kevin Bartram Tom Muecke fires a pass during training camp Associated Press SAN ANTONIO Tom Muecke used to look back and see Cody Carlson gaining on him when the quarterbacks played at Baylor University.

Now Muecke's race is with Reggie Slack for a position with the Houston Oilers. Assuming he settles his contract battle with general manager Mike Holovak, Carlson is entrenched as the backup to starter Warren Moon. Slack, a former 12th-round pick from Auburn, and Muecke are fighting for the No. 3 job. "Cody and I have always had a good working relationship but to be honest, we're really not competing at this time," Muecke said.

"He's well set at the second position and I'm going for the third spot." Slack is coming off a year of disappointment that started when he wasn't chosen until late in the college draft. "It was a difficult time," Slack said. "I expected to go higher in the draft but I wasn't drafted until the 12th round so there was a bit of a disappointment there." Slack got another setback when the Oilers released him prior to the start of the season. He returned to the practice squad Oct. 17 and finished the season with the Oilers.

"That at least allowed me to learn the offense," Slack said. Slack and Muecke each took advantage of the Oilers mini-camp in May to get in needed repetitions in the run-and-shoot offense. Learning the offense was one problem and adjusting to its speed was another, Slack said. "There was no problem in reading the defense, there was a problem in doing it on time," Slack said. "Now, I've gotten to the point where I can do that.

"Everything is falling into place. In this offense it takes awhile to grab hold and get comfortable with it. I'm seeing more of the philosophy of the offense and feel better about it all." Slack and Muecke have gotten more work in the Oilers' two scrimmages with the Dallas Cowboys because of Carlson's absence. Their battle for the No. 3 job likely will continue through preseason.

"I expect it to go right down to the final cut," Muecke said. "I think it's a wide open battle." Muecke was not drafted in the NFL after his final year at Baylor in 1985 and spent three seasons playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He went to training camp with Calgary last year, but faced with the prospect of being the No. 3 quarterback, Muecke decided to call it a career. Muecke returned to Waco and settled into a career selling insurance.

"Mr. Holovak called and asked me to be on the practice squad and I told him I'd think about it," Muecke said. "I thought about five seconds and told him I'd be there." Muecke was an outstanding baseball and football player at LaMarque and considered a baseball career. Advertisers love Jordan's air Associated Press CHICAGO Michael Jordan thrills basketball fans with his airborne athletics, but it's his nice- guy appeal that excites advertisers and makes him a champion in the lucrative game of product endorsements. Still, as Jordan's contract with the Coca-Cola Co.

expires Wednesday amid reports he is negotiating an $18 million deal with Gatorade, some marketing experts wonder whether his heavy load of plugs is crippling his effectiveness as a pitchman. "It's the law of diminishing returns," said consultant Ai Ries of the firm Trout Ries in Greenwich, Conn. "The more products a celebrity endorses, the less valuable that celebrity becomes to any one of those products." Jordan, star of the NBA champion Chicago Bulls, should be familiar to anyone who watches television. He endorses the products of 14 companies, including Coke, McDonald's Corp. and Nike Inc.

Jordan also promotes the Illinois State Lottery and his caricature will appear in a Saturday morning cartoon show, "ProStars," this fall on NBC, said Ted Ewanciw, a spokesman for Jordan's management company, ProServ in Arlington, Va. Marketing experts said Jordan endorses more products than any other sports celebrity. ProServ would not comment on estimates by industry executives that he receives $15 million to $20 million a year for endorsing products. ProServ's David Falk acknowledged that Jordan risks a "dilution" of his credibility by endorsing more than one product. ProServ's strategy, he said, is to help the athlete select products "that are complementary and deliver a consistent message.

"He endorses products primarily aimed at the youth market," Falk said. "We feel the products he is associated with are wholesome and ail-American." The scrubbed and polished image of Jordan as a sweet-natured guy with the superhuman leap glows in a pair of Coke commercials: in one, he delivers a six-pack to boys in a tree house; in the other, he's in orbit sipping a Coke. Those ads are scheduled to leave the airwaves after Jordan's two-year contract with Coke expires Wednesday, said Coke spokesman Bob Bertini. He said Coke made "a strategic and financial decision" not to renew its contract with Jordan. But Jordan may soon be seen on the tube drinking Gatorade, the thirst-quencher made by Chicago- based Quaker Oats the trade journals Advertising Age and Adweek have reported.

They say that next month Jordan will sign a 10-year, $18 million contract with Quaker to be Gatorade's first and only celebrity spokesman. Falk and Quaker spokesman Ron Bottrell declined to comment on the reports. Using a celebrity pitchman would be a departure for Gatorade, which has long relied on ads featuring ordinary amateur athletes gulping the stuff after a workout or weekend football game. The 26-year-old product recently acquired some new competitors, though, and a celebrity spokesman could help distinguish Gatorade from the other brands, especially if it becomes known as Michael Jordan's drink. Chajet said he generally counsels clients against using celebrities in favor of promoting the unique properties of their products.

"A celebrity is chosen because, almost by definition, the celebrity is more famous than the product itself," he said. "When the celebrity moves offstage, he takes his fame with him and leaves the product, which is the real asset of the manufacturer, naked. We think that's not wise." Estimates have Michael Jordan making million a year in endorsements Quarterbacks Fourcade, Laufenberg released Associated Press The ins and outs of NFL training camps had quarterbacks John Fourcade and Babe Laufenberg in a year ago and out on Tuesday. Fourcade became excess baggage with the New Orleans Saints when Bobby Hebert ended a yearlong holdout. Laufenberg became disposable when he failed to get the Dallas Cowboys into the playoffs in his only start last season.

"I don't have any regrets," said Fourcade, who realized the ambition of playing in the NFL with his hometown team. He led the Saints to three victories in the final 1989 games. But he struggled during the first five games in 1990 and was replaced by Steve Walsh, acquired in a trade with Dallas. When Walsh was dealt to the Saints, it meant that Dallas needed another backup for Troy Aikman. Laufenberg filled that bill, but when Aikman was hurt, the backup had to start the final game of the season against Atlanta, a game the Cowboys needed to win to make the playoffs.

Dallas lost the game 26-7 and on Tuesday, Laufenberg lost his job, his name assigned to the waiver wire for the eighth time in his career. "That loss hurt the coaches' confidence in me," Laufenberg said. "You would have to be blind not to see the handwriting on the wall. They weren't giving me much of a chance in practice." Lions Free agent nose tackle Lawrence Pete signed a one-year contract with Detroit. Pete missed the Lions' first nine games last season while on injured reserve.

He played in six of the last seven games and had nine tackles as a backup to starter Jerry Ball. His signing leaves three veteran free agents offensive lineman Eric Sanders and linebackers Niko Noga and Mark Brown still unsigned. Also holding out are running back Barry Sanders, linebacker Mike Cofer and offensive tackle Harvey Salem. All are under contract and subject to daily $1,500 fines. Bengals Free safety Barney Bussey, engaged in a training camp job fight with Rickey Dixon, will be sidelined at least a couple of days because of an inflammation in his knee.

Coach Sam Wyche said a magnetic resonance scan indicated that bone spurs had caused the problem, which may have been aggravated by Cincinnati's two-a-day practice schedule. "They gave him an injection to reduce the inflammation, and they're hopeful he can come back after a few days rest," Wyche said. "This is not a new condition, and he might be able to play with it once the pounding of two-a-days are over." Cardinals Holdout running back Johnny Johnson reported to camp, satisfied with some adjustments Phoenix made to his contract. Johnson, who was to make $95,000 in base salary this year, had demanded renegotiation after making the Pro Bowl last season. The Cardinals refused but agent Jim Sims said "we got some assurances that we were shooting for and didn't get some others." The Cardinals waived free- agent linebacker Donn Grimm and safety John Miller, who played in the World League of American Football.

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