Great Falls Tribune from Great Falls, Montana • Page 11

11 1 fo) Baseball roundups 28 Pan Am boxing preview 3B NFL training camps 30 Comics 48 Great Falls Tribune Tuesday, August 11, 1987 Lloyd saving grins for Saturday night Spcsrfis USA collects medals night. The only people thinking about it are the coaches. They're the only ones worried about I1 By SCOTT MANSCH Tribune Sports Writer If a fellow didn't know him belter, he might presume Joe Lloyd to be a bit cocky. As a matter of fuel, even those who know him quite well might think along those lines. But we're talking sour grapes here.

So what if Lloyd likes to puff the chest and carry the chin high when decked out in football garb. So what If he prefers a flashy somersaulting roll whenever a tackle allows such a maneuver. So what if he flashes that gaudy, toolhy grin after each touchdown and afler each victory. So what, says Jack Johnson, Lloyd's coach at CM, Russell High and now with the East All-Star team. "He's a great football player," says Johnson, whose reputation as Montana's most successful prep head coach is well-established.

"He deserves everything he can get (from the press)." But that's the problem, Coach. Lloyd probably isn't getting everything he deserves. And now, just when he has a chancn to prove everybody wrong in the prestigious Montana East-West Shrine All-Star game, that danged knee is hurting. A digression is in order. When Lloyd, a 5-foot-8, 155-pound tailback, rushed for 1,909 yards and 32 touchdowns last fall, Division I football scouts liked his production but hated his size.

When he won the 145-pound championship at the Class AA state wrestling meet, those same scouts shook their collective heads. "A tough little runt," they probably allowed. "But we can't use him." Montana State's football program seemed interested, until head coach Dave Arnold and his staff were fired. New coach Earle Solomonson, who favors an option-style offense, apparently is not. He's never called, Lloyd says.

The University of Montana, When Lloyd talks like this, his jaw set, it isn't tough to understand what has made his athletic career so successful. The young man is a determined son-of-a-gun. "I'm at my peak right now," he says. "I run and lifted all summer. I've worked hard at it, too hard to let this injury affect my thinking.

I'm not worried about it at all. I'll play the best I can." When Lloyd, who was sought by football programs at Carroll College, Dickinson (N.D.), Jamestown (N.D.) and Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) found time running out, he decided to sign a letter-of-intent to attend Evangel College in Springfield, Mo. It's a small NA1A school. A friend had told Lloyd about the place. "At first, I didn't think I'd be going there," he says.

"So I didn't think much about it. But it's a big football school. And they run the same stuff we did at CMR, the 1-formation. The coach told me I'll be playing. He said I'd be returning kicks right away.

"So I'm going to go down there, for one year at least, and see what I can do." Which should be plenty. But Lloyd doesn't leave for Missouri until after Saturday night's clash at Memorial Stadium. Which gives him one more chance to show the local folks what he's made of. Maybe even show a few out-of-towners, too. Any predictions for the game, Joe? "Between you and me?" he says.

No. For the rest of the universe. "Well, I think we'll do all right. We've got a good line. I just hope I get to carry the ball about 22 times.

I hope coach Johnson doesn't think I'm hurt." And then he grinned. see LLOYD, 2B INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Greg Louganis became the first three-time gold medalist in diving and the strong U.S. track and field team won five events Monday, continuing the host nation's domination of the Pan American Games. Louganis, 27, of Boca Raton, won the 3-meter springboard gold for the third straight time. The five-time world champion and 1984 Olympic double gold medalist set a Pan Am Games record with 754.14 points.

American track and field winners were Lee McRae in the men's 100 dash; Gail Devers In the women's 100; Jud Logan in the hammer throw; Mike Conley in the triple jump; and Cindy Greiner in the heptathlon. Cuba, which was a distant second in the medals race, said that despite protests against its delegation by a local anti-Castro group, it was staying In the games to the end. Cuban officials never threatened to withdraw their 452-member delegation from the games, which began Saturday. But tempers rose after a skirmish between protesters and the Cuban delegation at Sunday's baseball game, when Cuba beat the Neth-erland Antilles 12-1. Raul Villanueva, Cuba's vice minister of sports, on Monday called the, fight "an unfortunate spectacle" but said his country was not leaving.

"Cuba's going to be here until the 25th of sharing with the people of Indianapolis," he said. Indianapolis Police Chief Paul A. Annee promised extra security for the Cubans after several demonstrations by the anti-Castro group and the fistfight. Things were disorganized Sunday at the drug testing facility for track and field, however. But officials said those problems were overcome Monday.

see GAMES, 2B r.r mi rv i s4 I Joe Lloyd with its successful passing schemes, couldn't use Lloyd, either. According to Lloyd, the Grizzlies were undecided whether to offer a tender to Lloyd, or a speedy wideout from California. Guess who got the scholarship? "It bothered me at first," Lloyd says, "because 1 think if I'm given the chance I can compete at an NCAA Division I But there's not much you can say when they tell you you're too small. It was a letdown, but I wasn't real surprised." Johnson, however, was. You mean to say the big schools at least the Big Sky schools made a mistake with Lloyd, coach? "I think so, I really do," he says.

"Joe can play." If he's healthy, that is. Lloyd, who has beefed up to 170 pounds this summer via sessions of weight training and running, twisted his left knee during Shrine drills last week. He sat out a couple of days, and missed Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage. Lloyd dressed for practice Monday, but he was held out of contact. "It's about 85, 90 percent," Lloyd says.

"I'll be fine Saturday AP photo Panama's Rolando Frazier (11) provides the roadblock as teammate Fernando Pinillo blocks the shot of Willie Anderson of the USA. The USA team won its 30th consecutive Pan Am contest Monday with an 85-58 victory over Argentina. Langley stymies Butte By SCOTT MANSCH 4 L-a- Langley's night BUTTE (I) GREAT FALLS (4) ob bl ob It bi Cole If 3 0 10 Green cl Sanchez ss 3 1 0 0 Martinez ss McCutcheon CM 0 0 0 Lewis 3b 3 0 11 Valdez lb Sawyer rl Lemon 2b 4 12 0 4 0 0 0 3 112 3 10 0 3 111 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 DeMerlt II Barron rl Johnson dh Mustarl 2b Emmert lb Mons 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 10 0 0 3 0 0 0 10 0 0 2 1 2 1 Ohkubo 3b Speor rjh Holt ph Colon Takedo Totals Butte Totals 37 4 4 4 000 000 1001 200 200 0014 Sanchez. DP Great Great Falls Valdez, Burgos, Falls 2, Bulle 1. LOB Butte 2, Great Falls ITT 1.

3B Barron. HR Lewis (el. SB Sanchez. SF Johnson. IP ER BB SO Bulte Burgos 2-5 4 4 3 1 1 Great Falls Lanalev 3-3 9 2 1 1 4 9 WP Burgos, Langlev.

2:11. A 2,107. Phillies' pitcher ejected PHILADELPHIA (AP) Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Kevin Gross was ejected from Monday night's game against the Chicago Cubs because he had a sandpaper substance glued to his glove, according to the umpires. After Cubs' Manager Gene Michael complained to home-plate umpire Charlie Williams, the umpires went to the mound and examined both Gross' glove and the ball. Umpire crew chief John Kibler confiscated Gross' glove and the ball, and then ejected Gross from the game.

The ball and glove will be sent to the National League office in New York, and Gross could be suspended for 10 days if it is found he defaced the ball. Kibler informed the press box, through a ground crew member, that Gross had an illegal substance glued to his glove. Gross and the Phillies led the Cubs 4-2 in the top of the fifth when Michael approached Williams with his complaint. Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Niekro is currently serving a 10-day suspension after he was caught with an emery board and sandpaper in his pocket in a game against California on Aug. 4.

This is the first time that Gross has been challenged in such a o4 intensity is something else." The Dodgers got all the runs Langley needed when southpaw-swinging Lewis conked a two-run homer (No. 6) in the first inning. It was the third home run in five days for Lewis, who entered the game hitting a team-high .358. And, perhaps more significantly, it came off a hard-throwing left-handed pitcher, Butte's John Burgos. "No, I'm not doing anything different," said Lewis, who also made three fine defensive plays in the game.

"Against lefties 1 try to open up (his stance) a little bit. It's still just a matter of seeing the ball. Right now I'm seeing it good." Great Falls added a pair of runs in the fourth, thanks to a triple by supposedly-injured Tony Barron. Barron, hit by a pitch on the left forearm last week in Butte, was thought to have had a broken bone. Not so, however.

Barron slammed an RBI triple into the right-field corner, then scored himself on Eric Johnson's sacrifice fly. Meanwhile, Langley was cruising. Through six innings he'd allowed just two base-runners, both on walks. But Lucius Cole led off the seventh with a line single to right-centerfield, and the no-hit bid was history. Cole also broke up Carlos Carrasco's no-hit bid last week in Butte.

"I didn't even know I had it going," Langley said. "It was a good pitch (fastball, outside). He just got lucky and stuck his bat out." see DODGERS, 2B Tribune Sports Writer Alan Lewis didn't know hitting home runs could come so easily. Lee Langley didn't know working under the tutelage of Jim Brewer could help his pitching so much. But Tim Johnson, who as skipper of the Great Falls Dodgers oversees the progress of the two young athletes, has always known how much fun it is to win ball games.

"I told you a long time ago about the character of this club," Johnson said Monday night at Legion Park, after the DodgTS had defeated Butte's Copper Kings 1. "It's really starting to show through. It's a good feeling." The Dodgers opened a seven-game homestand Monday by playing solid, winning baseball and by continuing to display improvement. That same improvement has been so noticeable, of course, because Great Falls got off to such a poor start (4 wins in 24 games) this summer. Just as that month-long debacle drew attention, so is the Dodgers' current pace (19 wins in 25 games) raising some eyebrows.

Since the big-league All-Star game July 14, Great Falls and Helena's Brewers (both with 19-6 records) have been the hottest the Pioneer League has to offer. "We've just been able to put everything together," said Lewis. "We're getting great pitching." "The defense was outstanding," answered Langley, who walked four, struck out nine and threw a pair of double-play balls (in the 2nd and 4th) 7 ii If iM viil to get out of potential jams. The hitting was timely and the defense was pretty good, but it was Langley's outstanding pitching that deserves mention. The left-hander, who flirted with a no-hitter and finished with a complete-game, two-hit performance, had great location with his fastball.

He mixed in a soft curve to boot en route to his third win in six decisions. "He has helped me so much," said Langley of Brewer. "With mechanics, motion, everything." Brewer, the Dodgers pitching coach, was asked about it. "Langley is right now realizing he can pitch," he said. "When you do that, you get more aggressive.

And right now he is very aggressive. His if in irniiiMm.maa Tribune photo by Wayne Arnst Ernie Rodriquez relaxes Monday afternoon in a familiar setting at Legion Park before his Butte Copper Kings dropped a 4-1 decision to the Great Falls Dodgers in Pioneer League baseball action. After five-year absence, Rodriguez returns to Legion Park It would be unfair to claim that professional baseball running out of bats, and missing team buses. "I hope to stay in the game as lone as I'm Dhvsicallu George Geise Geise is Tribune sports editor. able, and I've been feeling real good," Emie said.

"I love watching kids develop into ballplayers and I look at coaching as a vehicle to teach these young kids." Seeing the current major-league success of former proteges like Rob Deer (Milwaukee Brewers), Matt Nokes (Detroit Tigers) and Chris Brown (San Diego Padres) has made his career even more memorable. "Rob Deer remember that he played here two years? They thought he couldn't play at all, but he can. And guys like Nokes and Chris Brown, you never can tell what a 17-year-old kid is gonna be like in four years. That's why leagues like this are so important." Ernie implied the Pioneer may have been a more exciting league when teams were sending 17- and 18-year-olds here, rather than the current trend of signing college graduates, or in Salt Lake City's case, grown men with three years of pro baseball behind them. "I see young kids being overmatched by experienced pitchers," he said.

"But I understand that the league needs teams to operate." Ernie said his only regret about this week is that he'll only have three days to spend here before the Copper Kings pack their bags and hit the road again. Three days won't be enough to time for Ernie to properly greet the many friends he left behind. Come to think of it, Ernie Rodriguez would need three months to do that. hasn't been the same at Legion Park since 1982. In the past five years, we've seen some great baseball played at Legion Park.

We've had great players and great pennant races, and the fans have turned out in record and increasing numbers to watch, first the Great Falls Giants, now the Great Falls Dodgers. For those fans who never visited the ballpark before 1983, they certainly would never know any difference. But Legion Park veterans those old-timers who arrive early and stay late, night after night have noticed a distinct difference the past five years. The games, quite frankly, haven't been as entertaining as they were when a stocky little man named Ernie Rodriguez was patrolling the coach's box at third base for the Great Falls Giants. When Ernie, bad knees and all, rambled out of the dugout to argue a call with the umpire, the fans enevita-bly rose to their feet.

Ernie's own bursts of energy seemed to energize an entire crowd, and it was interesting how many rallies seemed to follow Ernie's infrequent but effective trips from the dugout. Well, Ernie returned to the Legion Park coach's box Monday night, but this time as manager of the rival Butte Copper Kings. Did it matter to Great Falls baseball fans? Not a bit. If anything, absence has made their collective heart grow fonder of the little guy, now 50 years old, but as spry and energetic as ever. "Sure, I miss this place," Ernie said in an interview But Ernie's not complaining, mind you.

He's still in baseball, and baseball has been a major part of his life. "The people in Butte are trying real hard. It's tough when you first start out. Actually, the kids have been great. I've got four Japanese kids and only one speaks any English; I've got four Puerto Rican kid, who don't speak a word of English; and I've got a whole bunch of kids we picked up who I'm not sure understand English all the time," he said with a hearty laugh.

"But they all get along great." Ernie hasn't been out of baseball the past five years, just out of the Pioneer League. He still coaches the Pasadena City College team in the spring, in addition to his teaching and football coaching at Roosevelt High School in East Los Angeles. He has scouted for the Brewers the past few summers, and coached for the Bakersfield Dodgers of the California League in 1985. His return to the Pioneer League was almost by accident. He had been contacted by the Taiyo Whales, who wanted him to monitor the progress of their four prospects.

When the Copper Kings had trouble hiring a manager, they asked Ernie if he would handle both jobs, and he agreed. Ernie, who played eight years in the minors before entering the coaching end of the game, is in no hurry to get out of baseball. In fact, they'll probably have to carry him out of the third-base coaching box. about two hours before the game. Sitting in the clean, sun-splashed grandstands, Ernie admitted that all baseball isn't played in such pleasant surroundings, or in front of such knowledgable fans.

"You stay at a place eight years, you get to know the people pretty well," he said. "I enjoyed the atmosphere here so much. People like Logan (Hurlbert) and Ray (Klesh) run such a good program here. They're well-organized and that makes it nice for the people who come out to watch. It also makes it nice for a manager, who just has to worry about the ballgames." That isn't quite the way it works with the Copper Kings, a co-op club that is stocked with nine players from the Texas Rangers, one from the Milwaukee Brewers, one from the Pittsburgh Pirates, four from the Taiyo Whales of the Japanese League, and the rest free agents signed, at tryout camps.

Besides losing 37 of their first 48 games, the Copper Kings have done things like.