The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 33

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 1996 THE SALINA JOURNAL COMMENT HAROLD BECHARD The Salina Journal Tiger needs to be taken by the tail i T.Sunday shots from the sideline while wondering which team Robert Parish will be playing for when he turns 50. Shame on Tiger Woods. It has taken the PGA's newest sensation less 1 than a month to start acting like a spoiled rich athlete. Woods was to play in the Buick Challenge this weekend in Pine Mountain, but withdrew from because of mental exhaustion. Several of Woods' fellow pros (most notably Davis Love and Peter Jacobsen) publicly criticized Woods for his late withdrawal from the tournament.

Woods added insult to injury by deciding not to appear at a pre- tdurnament banquet honoring him as file 1996 college golfer of the year. The 200-person banquet was Canceled and several people, quite understandably, were not pleased. There's no question Woods is an ftnmense talent on the course, but tye 20-year-old needs to take a lesson or two in public relations. Legion coaching Sorry to hear Mike Garretson and Tim Bellew will not be coaching: American Legion baseball next summer. They are quality coaches and the Salina program certainly could use them.

With Brian Richardson (last year with the Salina Eagles) the only head coach returning next summer, the Salina program is in a quandary because of the out-of- touich ruling by the Kansas State High School Activities Association that doesn't allow high school coaches to coach their own players during the summer. That rule means the Salina Falcons and Eagles (Richardson is moving up to the 16-year-old Haflrks next summer) can not be coached by high school coaches from Salina Central, Salina South, Sacred Heart, Southeast of Saline dr Ell-Saline. It goes without saying that it will continue to be tougher and tougher for Salina's proud baseball program to find quality coaches for the summer. There are good people qut there, but many of them have their hands tied by the KSHSAA. I Pro.

coaching Niarty Schottenheimer is proof thefce's nothing more valuable than a good head coach in the National Football League (well, the league's tjest defense doesn't hurt, either). I tinder Marty, the Kansas City Chiefs are 17-4 since the beginning of the 1995 season. And this is with an offense that is average, and pre- dtetable, at best. The Chiefs have won one close game after another since Schotten- heimer and general manager Carl Peterson showed up in KG. Some ijiay call it luck and some may call it at coincidence, but just maybe the Scljottenheimer-led coaching staff ip better prepared than the ones they face each weekend.

i It's a marked contrast from the NBA where all it seems a team neejds these days is someone in a $2,000 suit and a slicked-back haircut to roll out the basketballs each day. KSU-KU tickets Kansas State officials announced eiarjier in the week that tickets for the Nov. 9 football game between the Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence were available on a single-game basis. Wrong. Iji order to buy a $35 ticket to the KSy.KU game, the purchaser must also buy a ticket for another Kansas home game this season, policy remains intact until Oct.

14, according to KU officials. A sellout is expected for the game at Memorial Stadium, but with six weeks remaining before the game, there are still over 10,000 tickets unsold. Meares' numbers Minnesota Twins shortstop Pat Mejares is winding up a solid sea- in his year in the big leagues. Heading into the final weekend ojf the season, the former Sacred Heart High School standout was hitting .270, with 137 hits, 66 runs scored, 26 doubles, 7 triples, 8 Home runs and 66 runs batted in. Sports COLLEGE FOOTBALL D3 NFL D7 LIFESPORTS D8 Farewell to the Wizard The Associated Press Ozzle Smith of the St.

Louis Cardinals acknowledges fans during his retirement ceremony Saturday at Busch Stadium In St. Louis. At right is Smith's son O.J. Smith. Smith's jersey ceremony drew 52,876 fans, the third-largest regular-season crowd In Busch Stadium history and included so many testimonials.that the start of the game was pushed back a half-hour.

For more on Smith and the rest of baseball, see Page D2. TBASEBALL O's celebration marred The Associated Press Baltimore's Roberto Alomar (center) and manager Davey Johnson argue with umpire John Hirshbeck Friday night. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Alomar suspended for heated incident with umpire Friday night By DAVID GINSBURG The Associated Press TORONTO Hours after an umpire burst into a locker room looking for another confrontation, Roberto Alomar was celebrating as a hero in the same clubhouse. The rift between Alomar and John Hirschbeck escalated earlier Saturday when the umpire charged into the Baltimore Orioles clubhouse in an effort to attack the second baseman. Alomar was suspended for five games by the American League Playoff field set Page D2 Dodgers, Padres tied Page D2 for spitting in Hirschbeck's face Friday night after the umpire ejected him for arguing a called third strike.

Alomar immediately appealed the suspension, meaning he would play in the final two games of the regular season Saturday and today at Toronto. The suspension was not supposed to include the playoffs. The All-Star second baseman hit a lOth-inning home run a few hours after the suspension was announced to put the Orioles into the playoffs with a 3-2 victory over the Blue Jays, his former team. Alomar was 0 for 4 before hitting his 22nd homer and propelling Baltimore into the postseason for the first tune since 1983. Alomar had been jeered by the Toronto fans throughout the game, but as the ball soared over the fence, he lifted both arms in triumph.

"I just had to come today and battle," Alomar said. "It was a difficult situation for me." The victory clinched the AL wild-card berth for the Orioles, who will face Cleveland in the first round of the best-of-5 playoffs starting Tuesday night at Camden Yards. See ORIOLES, Page D2 BASEBALL Rangers nab some of Dallas' spotlight While baseball team is headed for playoffs, football team is down By MADELINE BARO The Associated Press IRVING, Texas For the past quarter century, autumn's first chill has traditionally signaled time for North Texas sports fans to turn on Dallas Cowboys football and tune out the Texas Rangers. Believe it or not and some fans still don't the Rangers have succeeded in turning that upside down. The Cowboys, supposedly America's Team, aren't even Dallas-Fort Worth's team this fall.

By winning the first divisional title in franchise history, the Rangers buried the ghosts of many failures and relegated the struggling Super Bowl champs to the back page. Some Cowboys, tired of talking about the team's floundering 1-3 start, actually welcome the respite from Dallas-Fort Worth's searing media glare. "(It'll) take a little heat off of us," safety Brock Marion said while preparing for Monday night's game at Philadelphia. "It's kind of like we're switching roles." Until Friday, when the Rangers clinched the American League West title, the franchise hadn't made it past the regular season in 35 years. That includes the 11 seasons when they were the Washing.

ton Senators. The Dallas Cowboys, in roughly the same span, have won five Super Bowls, including back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993 and another championship last season. They're trying this year to become the first team in NFL history to win four league titles in five years. Given that record, the Cowboys aren't begrudging the Rangers a little success. "I'm always going to rob! for the home team," said place-kicker Chris Boniol, who has made it to The Ballpark for a couple games this season.

"I'm glad to see them doing well." Ohio State proves strength, whips Irish Buckeyes take Notre Dame out of national championship picture By The Associated Press SOUTH BEND, Ind. Yes, Ohio State is for real. The Buckeyes weren't challenged in their 70-point routs over Pittsburgh and Rice, so coach John Cooper wasn't sure just how good his fourth-ranked team really was. Now he knows after Saturday's 29-16 convincing win over No. 5 Notre Dame.

"They were pretty good today," Cooper said of his team. "We just need to keep going." PRO FOOTBALL The loss hurts Notre Dame's bid for a national championship, and sets up a showdown next weekend between the Buckeyes (3-0) and No. 3 Penn State. Notre Dame's Ron Powlus took the loss hard, leaving the locker room with red eyes. "The national championship is over," he said Ohio State 29 Notre Dame 16 tersely.

"Now the best we can do is go 10-1." The game took an ugly turn in the final minute, when Cooper and an Irish player went after each other after an interception. The two appeared to touch each other before being separated. Big 12 roundup Page D3 Scores, statistics Page D4 Cooper left before he could be asked about the incident. The teams exchanged handshakes when the game ended. The dejected Irish then walked off the field as the Buckeyes celebrated.

"Ohio State is as good a team as we've played in a while," coach Lou Holtz said. "They're a very, very good football team. If they play the way they did today, they can go a long, long way." Ohio State quarterback Stanley Jackson didn't disagree. "I might be bragging a little bit, but my offensive line, my defense, is the best in the country," he said. Ohio State had control of the game by halftime.

The Irish (3-1) tried to stage a comeback in the fourth quarter, but failed because of mistakes. Autry Denson returned a punt 90 yards for a touchdown but it was called back when Ty Goode was called for holding. The score would have brought the Irish within 29-22 with 3:41 to go. The penalty brought the play back to the Notre Dame 9. Four minutes earlier, Notre Dame scored on Marc Edwards' 9- yard run and cut the score to 2916.

The extra point was blocked. A Davis dandy The Associated Press Iowa State junior Troy Davis rushes for 378 yards In a 45-31 Big 12 victory over Missouri on Saturday. See Page D3 for details. Chiefs, Chargers play for AFC West lead today Longtime rivalry has history of bad blood, close, heated contests By BERNIE WILSON The Associated Press SAN DIEGO On one side are Neil Smith, Derrick Thomas, Marcus Allen and the Kansas City Chiefs' uncanny ability to dominate. On the other side are the San Diego Chargers' cannon, a disco song and the red-hot Stan Humphries-to-Tony Martin tandem.

The scores may be on the low side, but there's always emotion and excitement when the Chiefs and Chargers renew their AFC West rivalry. Today's fight for first place will be no different. The Chiefs are 4-0 for the first time in the franchise's 37- year history, and have won 12 More coverage Page D7 straight against division foes dating to the last game of 1994. The Chargers (3-1), two weeks removed from their debacle at Green Bay, want their share of the division lead. To the Chargers, this has become a bigger rivalry than with the Oakland Raiders.

"I think inaybe the Chiefs' rivalry goes all the way up through the front office and all the way up to the top, maybe," Humphries said. "I think the Raider game is a fan rivalry just kind of pushes over into the players, and the Kansas City game is a player rivalry that goes to the fans." Bad blood, bruised quarterbacks 61 sacks ip the last 10 games and close scores befit a rivalry between teams that have split the last four division titles. Whether it's KANSAS CITY AT SAN DIEGO WHEN: 3 p.m. today WHERE: Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego TELEVISION: NBC, Salina cable 4 RADIO: KINA, 910-AM; KSKQ, RECORDS: Kansas City 4-0; San LAST WEEK: Kansas City defeated Denver 17-14; San Diego defeated Oakland 40-34 Smith driving Humphries into the turf or coach Marty Schottenheimer jawing with tackle Stan Brock in an on-field scrum three years ago, there's always something to remember. "These games just build and build and build, and each time they become more intense," said Chiefs defensive tackle Joe Phillips, a former Charger.

Although the Chiefs have swept the series five of the last six seasons, the Chargers have broken through for three big wins 17-0 hi a 1992 wild-card playoff game, and a sweep en route to the Super Bowl in 1994. A big challenge for the Chargers will be regaining the home-field advantage, especially after the Chiefs won 22-7 here last year to break the mold of close games. Smith, who loves to pop off about the Chargers, has an amusing explanation for why the Chiefs win here. "I think it's because of that damn cannon you guys got down there," the defensive end said, referring to the cannon in one corner of Jack Murphy Stadium that fires after every Chargers score. "It gets us fired up." More than one visitor has been startled by the cannon booming.

"That's why I hate that," said Smith, who helped hold the cannon to one shot last year. "But I really hate the Chargers' song. That rings in my head constantly." That would be the "San Diego Super Chargers" song dating from the Air Coryell years. Humphries, who at mid-week still had welts on his face from Sunday's 40-34 win at Oakland, must withstand bookend pass rushers Smith and Thomas, who has a slight hamstring injury. "Somehow, some way, we've got to find out how to get over the top on these close ones," Humphries said.

Nine of the last 13 games in the series have been decided by a TO or less. SUGGESTIONS? CALL BOB DAVIDSON, SPORTS EDITOR, AT (913) 823-6363 OR 1-800-827-6363.