South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • Page 22

ii ri PAUi BEACH Sun-Sentinel, Friday, November 1, 1996 Section (All i If 1 I 1 Ml Glenn puts Pats into orbit Rookie WR fuels offense's takeoff Heat eager to see how far Alonzo Mourning's improvement carries over to the rest of the team. By ROBES PATTON Staff Writer MIAMI For the $105 million the Heat committed to center Alonzo Mourning, the team did not get a complete work. On the eve of his fifth season, Mourning remains a masterpiece in progress. He is a canvas with some blank spots, a sculpture with edges to smooth. "He has to go through a process in taking his game to the next level," Heat coach Pat Riley said.

"What is the next level? It's not that much higher than where he is from a production 3 standpoint." As the Heat prepares to open the season tonight against the Hawks at Miami Arena, Riley expects 23 to 25 points, 10 rebounds, 50-percent shooting and 3 or 4 blocks a game from his center. Mourning's statistical value has been proven. Based on pure numbers, he ranks among the best centers in the NBA. "But for him to get to the next level is for him to begin to finish all the other parts of his game to make his teammates better," Riley said. "A franchise player's value is how much better he makes other players because of his greatness.

That's the key." It is also the most important element of the Heat's upcoming season. As Mourning goes, so should go the Heat. During Riley's three decades associated with the NBA, he has worked closely with some of the league's great "franchise" players. He coached Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul- PLEASE SEE MOURNING 7C 4, 111 tgw; IIMII AA The Heat would like to see Alonzo Mourning play to his instincts and not think so Staff file photoROBERT DUYOS much when he gets the ball down low. By JASON COLE Staff Writer DAVIE There was a time when Patriots coach Bill Parcells was referring to wide receiver Terry Glenn with sarcasm; So much sarcasm that the coach got into trouble.

But the "she" days passed for Glenn, who was the No. 7 overall pick this season but suffered through a hamstring injury in training camp that raised the ire of Par-cells. Now, Parcells couldn't be much more effusive in his praise. "I think I have to be pleased with him," Parcells said. "He has Glenn developed well.

He has made some big plays. This kid is going to be a good play er. I mean he already a pretty good player." So good that he may be the difference between an offense that doesn't work and one that is the second best in the AFC. With Glenn out in the opener, the Patriots were limited to 229 yards in a 24-10 loss to the Dolphins. Since then, the Patriots have averaged 345 yards and 27 points.

New England also has won five of its past six with Glenn in the lineup. In concert with quarterback Drew Bledsoe, running back Curtis Martin and tight end Ben Coates, Glenn has helped make New England the No. 2 scoring team in the AFC. "Terry is an exceptional player," Bledsoe said. "Right now we have four rookie receivers who are starting or playing a great deal in our division and without a doubt we have the premier guy in that group.

He's also a very smart football player. He doesn't make a lot of mistakes. I guess you'd call it good field sense. He knows how to find holes in a defense." Right now, there appear to be many PLEASE SEE GLENN 14C Homestead reaches for stars Year-old track aims for Winston Cup event By LARRY LEBOWITZ Business Writer HOMESTEAD Ralph Sanchez's mammoth yellow dream in the middle of nowhere celebrates its first birthday this weekend. The air will be filled with screaming stock car engines, burning rubber and gasoline fumes as 70,000 racing fans converge on the Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex for the second annual Jiffy Lube Miami 300.

The race, which closes the season for NASCAR's Busch Grand National series, is another nationally televised dress rehearsal as Sanchez's state-of-the-art su perspeedway waits for the Big Time. Sanchez craves the legitimacy and money-making clout that comes with a date on NASCAR's elite Winston Cup circuit. "I would hope that NASCAR would agree that we have paid our dues, that we have proven that there is a market in South Florida," Sanchez said. "It deserves the best, and the best is the NASCAR Winston Cup." PLEASE SEE BIQ PLANS 7C Douglas 50, Coral Springs 0 Dlllard 35, Cooper City 14 South Broward 48. Flanagan 6 Hollywood Hills 23.

Hallandale 20 Western 18. Miramar 17 For scores, call Source Line at B23- Fr ft 00J Browara, 498-6463 In Boca-Delray and 62S-6463 In Oi Boynton Beach. Enter eateoo. have long since 1 Uli. 1 1' mi linn This news just in sports, sports, sports Wave of new cable networks starts today Scores, news and highlights 24 hours a day.

Immediacy and flexibility are the buzzwords. Studio shows in half-hour increments will be the main format, but the network also promises to delve Into breaking news as it develops, carrying major news conferences and field reports. A separate productiontalent staff of 75 has been hired, but analysts and reporters from ESPN's other two networks will also be used. In Florida, Sunshine Network (Miami Heat) will eventually join Fox Sports Net. FSN regional carriers have 11 NBA teams, nine MLB teams, eight NHL teams and Pac-10 and Big 12 football.

Fox Sports News will be a dally studio show, produced at Fox's Hollywood base, broadcast before and after the regional games. It will offer national news and analysis, with an emphasis on games shown on FSN. households in three years." Also today, Fox, the new kid on the sports block, unveils its regional cable network and daily national studio show. Fox Sports Net has aligned with Prime Network and is looking to gobble up more regional carriers, including Sunshine Network in Florida, Sports South in the Southeast and HTS in Washington, D.C. The studio show, Fox Sports News, will be seen for an hour before and two hours after regional broadcasts.

With eight regional carriers already in the fold, Fox Sports Net will have a starting penetration base of 20 million homes, with the number expected to climb to 35 million in a year. "We are not a sports news channel," said Vince Wladika, vice president of media relations for Fox Sports. "There are already too many of those and one is going to die. Our programming is event-driven, with a news show around it." "Sports is tribal," said David Hill, president of Fox Sports. "We're targeting the teams and sports that each region cares about.

We want to be part of the fabric of the communities we serve." PLEASE SEE NETWORKS 14C TwSpohts Nnvs Network The broadcast news know-how of CNN will combine with the sports expertise of Sports Illustrated on this network, which debuts next month. Format details are still sketchy; they will be announced in two weeks. But CNN sports anchors and SI staff writers will be featured in a mix of hard news, analysis, features and enterprise reporting. Headquarters In Atlanta, bureaus in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas. Affiliated with the SportsChannel network, NewSport offers show featuring scores, news and highlights, a nightly call-in show with guests.

It can be Florida after the conclusion of By MICHAEL MAYO Staff Writer Insomniacs, marriage and divorce lawyers are smiling today. Hard-core sports junkies, too. Two new sports-related cable networks launch today, and a third one is six weeks away from its debut. ESPNEWS, the third broadcast leg to sprout from ESPN's ever-growing sports monster, begins its non-stop run of news, highlights and scores at 7 p.m. tonight.

The first hour can be seen on ESPN, the 17-year-old granddaddy of sports cable networks that reaches 71 million homes. After that, the baby will be awfully lonely: only 1.5 million cable homes nationally will be able to receive it. "This is a marathon, not a sprint," said Vince Doria, ESPN assistant managing editor, who has been given day-to-day responsibility for the new network's development. "Our surveys show there is pretty heavy interest out there in a 24-hour service. The small starting number is a result of channel capacity among cable operators, not interest.

We heard the same questions about ESPN2, and that's grown from 9 million to 38 million Tonight's best bet Pahokee vs. Boca Raton 7:30 p.m. Boca Raton High School i for as NewSport Orlando Sentinel photo UF offensive line coach Jimmy Ray Stephens is popular with his players. MYin-fninnfTrrfffTjl i BiiTTngr mwrrmmam fl a national studio along with seen on SportsChannel regional programming. Stephens gets Gators moving through line Florida offensive line coach Jimmy Ray Stephens keeps juggling his personnel to help keep the Gators' offensive machine running smoothly.

"He's a great coach," Gators senior center Jeff Mitchell says. STORY, 6C Pittsburgh shuts down Boston College 20-13 Mati Lytle and Jake Hoffart connected on a 40-yard touchdown pass, and Dwayne Schulters ran 117 yards and two touchdowns Pittsburgh upset Boston College 20-13 for only its second Big East win In two years. STORY, 6C i-j wwv. mw categories, 2C..