Argus-Leader from Sioux Falls, South Dakota • Page 29

Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D. Wednesday, March 20, 1991 lot 1991 American and National League baseball schedules 3 port in Business: inflation up only 0.2 percent but not all is rosy8 (sl too3 IrS? Pat Duncan I'm really wondering if there is enough time to get it going for this season. Opening day is not too far down the line. There are definitely some wrinkles to work out, but we want to help (league organizer Max Chambers) any way we Mayor Jack White "They would have to cram a lot of work into a short time," said Sioux Falls mayor Jack White, who met with Chambers last week. "I think Chambers would definitely like to have some local people involved, but he told us that is not pivotal.

I'm really wondering if there is enough time to get it going for this season. Opening day is not too far down the line. There are definitely some wrinkles to work out, but we want to help him any way we can." The cost of starting a team would be $25,000. The league would own the franchises at the outset, selling operating agreements to interested parties. Operators would then have first option to buy the franchises.

No local people have shown a strong interest in getting involved Can-Am See 4D Decision to be made in next 1 0 days By MICK GARRY Argus Leader Staff Sioux Falls could be home to an independent professional baseball team that begins play May 24. That is according to Max Chambers, a Chicago-based sports promoter who is attempting to start the Can-Am Baseball Development League. The league, which will have no major-league affiliation, is expected to include eight teams. Chambers, who recently visited Can-Am Baseball Development League Teams In league so fan Duluth, Fargo-Moorhead; Regina, Saskatchewan; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Thunder Bay, Ontario; Winnipeg, Manitoba. Expected number of teams: 8.

Teams to be composed of: Released pros, former college players. Play begins: May 24. Team travel: By bus. Cost of starting a team: $25,000. Salary cap: $100,000 a team.

Average player pay: $700 a month. Sioux Falls, is optimistic, despite the short time frame. "The news of whether we have a team in Sioux Falls will come out in the next 10 days," Chambers said by phone from Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Tuesday. "I'm very optimistic about it. I think an operator would jump on the chance to run a club in Sioux Falls.

They have a nice ballpark, and a lot of baseball fans. I think the city has great potential for pro ball." Whether or not that potential can be realized in the next few weeks is the question. 1 C3HPf Ellenbecker makes triumphant return to track at SIC meet By STU WHITNEY Argus Leader Staff VERMILLION The Sioux Interstate Conference held a track meet Tuesday at the DakotaDome, and Kristin Ellenbecker is still healthy. That in itself was a victory for O'Gorman's senior long-distance runner, but she added a convincing triumph in the run for good measure. Ellenbecker's presence helped O'Gorman's girls team defeat Sioux City North 53-48 at the meet, which was a series of duals to kick off the season.

In other girls action, Brandon Valley defeated Heelan 4745, Lincoln beat East 73-24 and Washington downed West 73-24. In the boys division, O'Gorman dominated North 65-36, Brandon Valley beat Heelan 45-38 and Washington defeated West 55-46. Last season, Ellenbecker suffered a stress fracture in her left foot and worked hard to make a comeback at the Howard Wood-Dakota Relays. But the day she began training for that meet, she broke a bone in her other foot. Many would have quit at that point, citing the general unfairness of life.

Ellenbecker felt challenged. "It made me more determined sitting on the side and watching everybody running. It made me want it more. It made me work harder to get back." Ellenbecker, 18, hopes to return to the state meet this season, where she finished fourth in both the 1,600 and 3,200 as a sophomore. On Tuesday, a week after a bout with the flu, she won the 1,600 in 4 minutes, 57.9 seconds, but she didn't run the last lap because of a mix-up by meet officials.

"She really wants to be good; that's the main thing," O'Gorman coach Doug Lindner said. "She wants to excel. It's fun to see things Here's work out for her." Ellenbecker will be challenged this spring by Lincoln's Susie Ker-kaert, who won the 3,200 in 12:19.87 and the 800 in 2:33.3 on Tuesday. "She's in my conference, so we've been going back and forth for a while now," Kerkaert, 17, said. "That was a big disappointment (when she got hurt).

The most I've had is a sprained ankle." But injuries seem to follow the Knights around. Last year marked the first time 6-foot-4 senior long-distance runner Curt Daughters had escaped stress fractures in his ankles, but then the unthinkable happened. Just before the regionals, someone dropped a 10-pound weight on his toe. Daughters, 18, still managed to take second at the state meet with a hole cut in his shoe for comfort. Then, just before last year's cross-country state meet, he injured his ankle during a leisurely run and ended up seventh.

"That's almost as strange as it gets," Lindner said of his oft-injured seniors. "They've been the leaders of this team, and they deserve their chance in the sun. "I hope they get it, but if they don't, I want them to at least know why. I don't want it to be because of a broken this or a busted that." Daughters, who plans on continuing his running career at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, considers the 3,200 to be his best shot at state-meet glory. "I've only been running for a month, but I'm starting to get into it now.

The longer distance is good because I can maintain my pace pretty well." And if O'Gorman's seniors can just maintain this current trend one of health and hope memories of lost opportunities may be long gone by the end of the season. the pitch i Even the most indestructible can have a fall Say it ain't so, Bo. It can't be over, not for you. You're only 28. So young.

If your ability to "Just Do It" is threatened, what about ours? If you can't do it anymore, what hope is there for us? You have reminded us of when we were kids. We played then football, then baseball, then basketball until we couldn't see whether the ball was still going through the hoop anymore. You still did that, Bo Jackson. But you didn't leave when the street lights went on. You didn't drop your bat and go home when your mom called for supper.

You just kept going. And going. Like the stupid rabbit with the drums in the battery commercial. Major-league baseball, with the Kansas City Royals. Then football, with the Los Angeles Raiders.

No break for the weary, except maybe for a Nike commercial or two. But then you didn't get weary, did you. You're not like us. And that's why it's so hard to comprehend. "One of a kind," former Royals teammate Jim Eisenreich said.

"A nightmare we hope we'll wake up from," George Brett said. Released on Monday by Kansas City because of damaged cartilage in the left hip. It sounds so permanent. So forever. Chondrolysis, the Royals' team doctor said.

"We found the normal cartilage face essentially destroyed. In the left hip, we found the weight-bearing cartilage gone," Steve Joyce said. It dates to a tackle in the National Football League playoffs, against Cincinnati. "As the hip is forced out of the socket, the blood vessels can tear," Joyce added. "It's still in the very early stages." It doesn't sound good.

One doctor said you might need a hip replacement in 10 years. A hip replacement, like our grandparents might get. There you'll be, Bo. You and your cane. I can't watch.

There'll be time to rest, you said. Don't tell me what to do. If I want to play baseball, I'll do it. If I want to play football, I'll do it. We've seen the ads, too.

I don't exactly believe you'd make a good surfer; maybe you couldn't beat Tom Cruise in an auto race. But who am I to doubt? It's your world. Bo. We're only passengers. That's what makes this so difficult to swallow.

Bo Jackson so vital, so indestructible, could run through anything, past anyone, catch, throw and hit with power could be through. When we're young we think nothing can hurt us. We can't see the end or even imagine it's mere. Ask Marc Buoniconti. Ask Jay Burson.

If they were here to answer, you could ask Thurman Munson, Len Bias or Hank Gathers, too. Well, I won't believe it. And the Raiders don't believe it. Raiders general manager Al Davis takes the optimistic approach. Take two or three months off, then come see us.

We'll wait. So will the rest of us. So take a break, Bo. You deserve it. And don't rush to come back soon.

Just come back if you can. Pat Duncan is the Argus Leader sports columnist. Scores NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION New York 97, Charlotte 79 Atlanta 104, Boston 92 Houston 98, Minnesota 85 Milwaukee 101, Miami 88 San Antonio 104, Sacramento 101 Golden State 136, Portland 126 LA Lakers 119, LA Clippers 105 NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Boston 1, Hartford 1, tie Edmonton 7, Quebec 6, OT St. Louis 2, Washington 1 New Jersey 5, Pittsburgh 4 WOMEN'S TENNIS Augustana 5, South Dakota 4 MEN'S TENNIS Argus Leader photo by BILL HAINES Lincoln's Jared Oakland and Washington's Greg the Sioux Interstate Conference indoor track meet Binstock battle for the lead during the 4x800 relay in Tuesday in the DakotaDome. Another photo.

6D Spring-training wish comes true for Ramharter Steve Ramharter, 23, of Sioux Falls is in his first pro baseball spring training at the Texas Rangers' minor-league camp. The left-handed reliever, who played collegiately at Rice, was drafted by the Rangers and played last season at Butte, Mont, in the Pioneer League, a rookie league. He led the team in appearances and was 2-1 with one save. Ramharter's thoughts the strain of pitching. I guess I'll find out more tomorrow.

MARCH 15 Pitchers and catchers report to spring training four days before the position players. This is done so the pitchers can get a head start on getting arms ready and getting some drills done before the big crowd of players arrives. It's not like there isn't a crowd here now, though. Believe it or not, there are about 90-95 players here already. That only means one thing.

Several have got to go. The minor-league director has already told us that 35 to 38 players have to be released by April 8. For those of us who are in spring training for the first time, it was a day of RamharterSee 3D By STEVE RAMHARTER For the Argus Leader PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. MARCH 14 Spring-training camp. It always was a wish of mine to come down to Florida and watch the big-leaguers prepare for the upcoming season.

Well, that wish now is a dream come true, because not only am I here in Florida watching others prepare for the season, I'm doing the same. In the past, I've kept a journal on the baseball season for a variety of reasons. I guess the main reason I do it is because so many hilarious things happen over the course of a season. Baseball is a sport like no other in that the main focus seems to be to have fun. I attribute this to the fact that there is so much dead time in baseball time between pitches, batters, innings and even games are spent trying to entertain one another.

Unfortunately, a good portion of this entertainment might not be appropriate for a newspaper journal. Camp opens tomorrow and I can't wait to see what these 3'2 weeks will tell about my future in pro baseball. Of course, I'm hoping for big things, but I also have to see the reality side of things. The big question mark I have coming into camp is the health of my pitching shoulder (left). Choosing to avoid surgery in the off-season, I opted for a cortisone shot, which is only a temporary fix.

It's a terrible feeling not knowing whether your arm will be able to handle from spring training will appear Steve periodically in the Argus Leader. Ramharter Briefly Knutson, Hille named all-SIC in basketball From staff reports Dave Knutson of Washington and Marc Hille of Lincoln have been named to the all-Sioux Interstate Conference boys basketball team. Joining them on the first team were Matt Kennedy and Paul Pederson of Sioux City West and Tony Planten-berg of Sioux City Heelan. Pederson was named the league's most valuable player. Knutson, a 6-foot-4 senior forward, was a second-team selection last year along with Pederson.

O'Gorman's Julian Johnson and Washington's Chris Houser and Travis Burkhalter were named to the second team. Complete team. 2D NCONAIA all-star basketball game set From staff reports North Central Conference and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics seniors will meet in the Wilson NAIA-NCC all-star basketball game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Madison. This is the first time area NCC and NAIA players have been pitted against each other in the game.

Previously the NCC and NAIA players were intermixed into North and South teams. This is also the first time players from other than South Dakota colleges will participate in the game. At halftime will be the finals of the slam dunk and 3-point contests. The prelims of those events will be at 5:45. Rosters.

2D Lists NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE 60-GOAL SCORERS NHL players who have scored 60 goals in a season with goals, player, team and season (through March 19): 92 Wayne Gretzky, '80-81 87 Wayne Gretzky, '8SS4 85 Mario Lemieux, '88-89 80 Brett Hull, St.L, '90-91 76 Phil Esposito, '70-71 73 Wayne Gretzky, '84-85 72 Brett Hull, St.L, '89-90 71 Wayne Gretzky, '82-83 71 Jari Kurri, '8485 70 Mario Lemieux, '87-88 Tomorrow IN THURSDAY'S ARGUS LEADER: Readers offer their opinions on which team is best among South Dakota's three state boys basketball champions. Television NIT ACTION: Oklahoma and Providence play in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament college men's basketball event at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Listings. 2D Today SPORT WITH A POINT: The Minnehaha Archers Indoor Range is open to the public from 6 p.m.

to 9 (336-1979). Schedule. 2D Trivia CANADIAN CLUB: What team won the last two World Hockey Association titles before that league folded prior to the 1980 season? Answer. 2D Arous Leader Dhcto Jeff Rau of the University of South Dakota will participate in an all-star game Saturday in Madison. South Dakota 6, Augustana 3.