The Galveston Daily News from Galveston, Texas • Page 15

"YOUR ACE HOME CENTER" FREE LUMBER OPEN MILL 7DAYS 763-1633 45th SPORTS Section January 25, 1990 LQWih' HOltf 1 SELLING CAR "Drive the Best" Gal. 744 5711 Bay Area-188 2363 Dana Fregia Trade your armchair for a bar stool here is a new game in town for us armchair quarterbacks. It's called the NTN Entertainment Network, and the only place you can play in all of the Houston area is at Pepper's Lounge in the Holiday Inn in La Marque. I haven't had a chance to get over and play yet, but it sounds like just the thing for us cats who think we know more than the professionals on the playing field. After talking to Cheryl Goff, a lady in the Holiday Inn sales office, what NTN is, as far as I can figure, is a way to play video games all night for free! No seriously, what it actually is, is a satellite network that Pepper's has tapped into that allows patrons of the bar to play (free) along with live sports broadcasts, such as baseball, football and hockey games, as well as several nationwide trivia contes ts.

Super suggestions For example, Sunday during the Super Bowl, patrons using one of 19 terminals what they like to call playmakers will try to anticipate the plays that the Broncos and 49ers will call before the plays are run. If you guess right, the computer gives you a cookie, so to speak, and records your correct answer-. It also keeps tabs on your bad calls. Throughout this game, the computer keeps a tally of your score and when the game is finished, it even shows you how your score ranks against all of the other armchair studs hooked up to NTN playmakers in bars all over the U.S. and Canada.

There are seven games in all. "QBI," the football game, "PowerPlay," the hockey game, and "DiamondBall," used with baseball, all use actual game broadcasts as they happen live. There are also four trivia games, one of which, "Sports Trivia Challenge," tests the players' sports knowledge. Two other games deal with every-day trivia, such as "what is the flight speed of the European Swallow?" while the other called, "Nightside" deals with ADULT trivia (nudge, nudge, say no more.) A new attraction Cheryl tells me that Pepper's has had the NTN system installed since the early part of this month. "I know they have them in Abilene, Dallas and El Paso, "she said, "but the guy who installed it said this was the first one in the Houston area.

I was surprised." Because there's been sort of a lull in the sports world lately, Cheryl said the trivia games have been the most popular with patrons so far. But she does expect a good crowd for Super Sunday. So far there hasn't been a problem with the availability of playmakers. Pepper's added nine more playmakers last week in anticipation of the Super Bowl rush. "A lot of people form teams and have more than one person making the decisions at each playmaker," Cheryl said, adding that the computer also rates each team's performance in relation to the others in Pepper's alone, as well as the nationwide ranking it provides.

Cheryl said that, just as with any computer system, some people have been a little wary of the thing. I asked her to give me an oxample of one of the "Night- side" trivia questions. But as it turns out, I guess Cheryl is not that kind of girl. "I've never played it myself," she said. "And the one question that someone did ask me from that game, I dbiibt I would repeat in a phone conversation." Dana Joe Fregia is a sports writer for The Galveston Daily News.

Hill: Don't put off dreams Ex-Tor shares lessons he learned on way to NFL Staff photo by Vines Stiglich Jr. Telling the truth Phoenix Cardinals linebacker Eric Hill speaks during the Ball High football banquet Wednesday night. By DANA JOE FREGIA The Daily News GALVESTON Some people, who have the courage may bare their souls to their pastor, their mother or their closest friend. Phoenix Cardinal football player and former Ball High standout Eric Hill had the courage to bare his soul to an entire audience Wednesday night at the Ball High football banquet. Hill, a first-round draft choice by the Cardinals in 1989 and an All-America linebacker at LSU, took his opportunity as keynote speaker to tell his story of trial and triumph he endured to reach his goal, the National Football League.

Hill, with his mother Annie George seated nearby, told the Ball High players, coaches, cheerleaders and fans of his problems involving alcohol at LSU. He shared with them the loss he suffered when his former roommate and friend Ralph Norwood, of the Atlanta Falcons, was killed in a car accident this past year. "When I got a phone call one night telling me that Ralph was killed in a car accident, it broke me up," Hill said. "We always used to talk and he'd tell me all the things he was going to do. And Ralph had a chance to achieve all those things he wanted to Hill told the students not to wait before striking out after their goals.

"I could say, Til do it Hill said. "But tomorrow may never come. Just like in Ralph's case, 'tomorrow' never got here." Hill also spoke of problems at LSU that could have jeopardized the NFL career he now has. "In my junior year, I got into a little alcohol, partying too much and I slacked up on my books," Hill said. "Next thing, I found myself in jail one night." Hill said he "blew off" that first brush with law until a month later, "the same thing happened," he said.

"My mom was calling worrying what I was doing with all of my time," he said. "I said 'Mom, I've got it all under But I didn't have it all under control. She didn't know that I was kicked out of the dorm, living off campus, taken off the meal plan." Then he added, "This is probably the first time I've See HILL, 2-B No progress in baseball negotiations Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. Baseball officials spent five hours Wednesday trying to convince three dozen players that the game's financial structure needs to be overhauled They were met with skepticism but not rejection. "It was interesting," said Frank Viola of the New York Mets, the 1988 American League Cy Young Award winner.

"Not much happened, though." After the bargaining session union head Donald Fehr repeated that he would tell players not to work out on their own if clubs locked them out from spring training camps, which are scheduled to open on Feb. 15. He and the players continued to doubt the owner's pay-for-performance proposal. Owners will meet on Feb. 9 in Chicago for an update on negotiations.

Chuck O'Connor, management's chief negotiator, said Wednesday the lockout threat "was very serious because there is no day to open." Teams have said they want an agreement by the start of spring training, but O'Connor said Wednesday that only the "central piece" of the deal needs to be agreed to by then. O'Connor, who replaced Barry Rona as head of the management bargainers in December, said he remained upbeat and understood players' reluctance to management's revenue-sharing and pay- for-performance proposals. See BASEBALL, 2-B Super Bowl XXIV Elway fires back at Bradshaw Lott still commands respect at age 31 Associated Press NEW ORLEANS Denver quarterback John Elway, blistered' by Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw as being too soft, fired back Wednesday. Elway said Bradshaw had been critical of him throughout his career and that the ex-Pittsburgh quarterback was jealous because of Elway's high salary. "He can stick it in his ear," Elway said.

Asked to compare Ehvay and San Francisco quarterback Joe nW a £is ti si more concerned about promoting himself than winning Super Bowls. He's been babied. He hasn't won John Elway answers questions Wednesday ularly critical of the Bronco pass er. "The first thing I think of is bottom line Elway admitted that he is trou- See EL WAY, 2-B Associated Press NEW ORLEANS When Ronnie Lott yells, the 49ers listen. When Lott plays, other safeties watch.

But mostly, when Lott hits, receivers grimace. "He should put together a highlight film of his greatest hits so people realize all the awesome hits he's put on people," said Denver safety Dennis Smith, Lett's close friend, who calls him "the Michael Jordan of defensive backs." A year ago, headlines during Super Bowl week referred to him as the "aging Lott." This season there's been a lot of talk about the "old man," who turns 31 in May. But despite missing five games with a right ankle sprain, Lott has shown more than ever in the post- season that he remains the standard against which other safeties and team leaders must be measured. His recent play even inspired ban Francisco coach George Seifert to invent a word. "Ronnie Lott is playing with even more quickness than I've seen," Seifert said.

"He seems to have had a 'fresh' is the way I might describe it a fresh in his body." There will be a lot of Lott fans on the Broncos sideline Sunday in theSuperdome. Smith, who roomed with him at Southern Cal, calls himself "the poor man's Ronnie Lott." Rookie free safety Steve Atwater idolized him so much in college that he had See LOTT, 2-B Cougars proud of effort in OT loss By DANA JOE FREGIA The Daily News LA MARQUE Despite a heartbreaking, 77-76 triple- overtime loss to rival Ball High Tuesday night, La Marque basketball players were reflecting on the game with pride Wednesday. Meanwhile, Galveston Ball coach Jerry Williams was still breathing a huge sigh of relief Wednesday for his Tors, admitting the game was one of the most emotionally draining he's ever been a part of 35 a coach. "I've had overtime games before," Williams said. "But that was triple overtime that I have ever been involved with in all of my 17 years of coaching." Williams said it's hard to take time out to enjoy a game like Tuesday's while it is still going on.

"I enjoy it," he said. "But you hope to not be in that (overtime) situation because COUGARS, 2-B Teamwork key to Stings' soccer success, coach says By MIKE BAILEY The Daily News Texas City soccer coach Joe Collins says he's had more talented teams in his six years of coaching the team, but never a group that played together more. Tuesday night, the Stings defeated Deer Park, a traditional power in the Stings' district, 3-0, to remain perfect on the season. "It's just meshing together," Staff photo by Kevin Barlram Long night Marque's Everett Lee tries to go up for a shot Tuesday night as James Kennie (top) and Herchel Wafer defend. The Tors won the game in triple overtime.

Staff pholo by Kevin Bartram Paul Campbell said Collins, whose team will put its 5-0 record on the line Friday night in a showdown with Clear Lake. "They just pass the ball real well and it doesn't make any difference who scores. They just look for the open man." Randy Jones, Richard Cazares, and Jeremy Calhoun had goals in Tuesday's win. It was the Stings' third shutout this year. See TRINITY, 2-B Trinity Baptist prepares for biggest game of the season By MIKE BAILEY The Daily News TEXAS CITY The Trinity Baptist Boys basketball team is busy preparing for its biggest game of the year, a Friday home contest against Bellaire in what could determine the district title.

Trinity competes in the Houston Christian Sports Association. For Che Bears, this is the only championship. The winner of the association does not continue to any kind of state tournament. Trinity and Bellaire, both 4-0 in SM STINQS, 2-B.