Daily Record from Morristown, New Jersey • Page 30

C4 Daily Record. Morris County, N.J. Thursday, July 16, 1992 SPORTS Jets getting down down to business Nixon picks his All-Stars Rose named to one team NFL By Barry Wilner Associated Press By RONALD BLUM Associated Press 'You have to have been a real baseball fan to have been a fan of the Senators. It was no easier to have been a fan of the Senators we had back then than of some of the senators we have in Washington Richard Nixon 1- A. A I Bruce Coslet anapolis will have a lot to say about that, too.

It's easy for me to say it but it will be very difficult to back up. "And we want to get back in the playoffs and see what happens." What happened last year was a HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. Bruce Coslet put away the golf clubs a week ago. It was time to get serious. "I'm itching to get going in football," Coslet said yesterday as the New York Jets became the first NFL team to officially open training camp.

"I haven't played golf since last Wednesday. I'm anticipating a good year with enthusiasm. I'm looking forward to it. "I'm fired up, ready to go. We've been together going into our third year, the staff has been together and we know what each other is doing.

We have a group of core players who have been here and are comfortable with them." Coslet, however, isn't the type of coach who lets himself get comfortable. He knows that the Jets were in the middle of the NFL pack last season, even if their 8-8 record got them a playoff berth far ahead of anyone's projections. He knows there are dozens of questions to answer even before the Sept. 6 opener at Atlanta. "We should be more competitive at virtually every position," a relaxed, joking Coslet said.

"We'll go into the season with higher expectations. You can read into that what you want." Read this into it: Coslet expects the Jets to move from longshot to contender. He wasn't making any brash predictions like last year's claim that the Jets could go 11-5. But he made it clear that his thinking is geared toward Buffalo at the top of the AFC. "For our goals, No.

1 we have to establish homefield advantage," he said. "We were 4-4 at home last, and that's not good enough in today's football. We want opponents to come in feeling at a disadvantage and the only way we will get that done is to prove ourselves to the fans. many other games against quality I teams, it was a game the Jets could nave wuii, .1 YORBA LINDA, Calif. Of course Pete Rose had to be on Richard Nixon's All-Star team.

The only U.S. president to resign his office picked the banned Cincinnati Reds player and manager for one of his squads announced yesterday during a gala luncheon at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library Birthplace. Nixon's teams covered three different areas: what he called the Yankee era from 1925-59, the expansion era from 1960-91 and currently active players. The former president even made a baseball connection with this year's three-way race between President Bush, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and Ross Perot.

"They're all left-handers. That's never happened before," Nixon said. "AH baseball men will tell you all left-handers have a tendency to be wild." Hall of Famers Bob Feller, Johnny Bench and Brooks Robinson were on hand, as were California Angels manager Buck Rodgers and Oakland Athletics manager Tony La Russa. Nixon noted the presence of Rodgers, who is recovering from the Angels' bus crash. "He's in a wheelchair," Nixon said.

"You can now see why I'm against busing." The 500 guests who paid up to $500 a ticket dined on California fruit and avocado salad, pasta Lasorda, chilled poached Alaska salmon Belview and all-time great baked baseball cake, which was shaped like a ball and had Nixon's initials in red glaze. As the guests sat under an air-conditioned white tent with an artificial turf floor, Dodger Stadium organist Nancy Bea Hefley and nui iney aian i come tnrougn in this mnct ttHtnl citnaHnna Citsi lauurcs eai at cosiet. uon, ne said. It was one of our guais idsi year anu we aian gei done and I'm darn disappointed about it. We nnlv had tivn nlavo nf i J- lrtnrt rlicnnnn nnij 'n 1 1 the USC Trojan Marching Band entertained.

"Just to make it clear that we're non-partisan, of all the greats, there are more from Arkansas than anywhere else," Nixon said. "And when I talked with the USC band, I spent more time with the saxaphonist than anyone else." David Eisenhower, Nixon's son-in-law, introduced the greats and the 37th president, whom he advised in picking the teams. "I vetoed a few. He vetoed me a lot," Nixon said. "To veto a president is something." Nixon talked about how Joe Di-Maggio homered on July 4, 1936, the first major league game Nixon attended.

While he was in Washington, Nixon was a fan of the Washington Senators, a perennial loser. "You have to have been a real baseball fan to have been a fan of the Senators," Nixon said. "It was no easier to have been a fan of the Senators we had back then than of some of the senators we have in Washington today." Nixon, who was elected in 1968 and resigned on Aug. 9, 1974, was a big baseball fan during his years in the Oval Office. On June 22, 1972 iuug uiaiauuc auu ilia 10 uuiiuiuua Associated Press Former president Richard Nixon picked teams from three eras.

Complete List Of Nixqn All-Stars, Page C5 in a lb-17 same spasnn IlTUt. tL.i I i hii ma i in iimiu ana wun vei- oran Van n'Diian UnlAlnn VUb Coslet's attention has turned to Browning Nagle, the quarterback-in-waiting. That wait may be over after one season of watching from the sidelines. five days after the Watergate break-in he was asked at a White House news conference to select his all-time team, and several days later he picked two: 1925-45 and 1945-70. This time he picked three, including designated hitters in the National League.

Rose, banished in 1989 for gambling, was picked as the National League DH for the expansion era. Some of the picks were a bit unusual. Nixon chose Phil Rizzuto as the AL shortstop from 1925-59 and Bobo Newsom as a pitcher during that period. He picked Luis Tiant as an AL pitcher from 1960-91 and Branch Rickey as the NL manager ftom 1925-59. He reserved special praise for Casey Stengel, his AL manager for 1925-59.

"To be a good diplomat, you have to confuse the opponent," Nixon said. I 7TI I3 MM "We also want to dominate divisional opponents. We have to play at the top of our game to be able to compete with (Buffalo) in our division. Miami, New England and Indi- 1 33 AP0U0 TIRE Open Knicks win decision, but will they get Grant? Continued from C1 AUTOMOTIVE CENTER Route 46 West'Denville 625-0213 Next to St Marv's r.hurrh "The Home Of While-U-Wail" Tire Service" HEAVY DUTY PREMIUM QUALITY ALL SEASON EXHAUST SYSTEMS MOST CARS 60 MONTH GUARANTEE 1Q95 9995 UP INSTALLED UP AUTO.LAWNMOWER, MARINE, GOLF CART 15 OFF $500 OFF ANY 2 TIRES 15 OFF ANY ALIGNMENT SERVICE ON ANY CAR OR LT. TRUCK ANY COMPLETE BRAKE SERVICa NEW YORK (AP) The New York Knicks were cleared yesterday of tampering with Harvey Grant of the Washington Bullets when they tendered him a free-agent offer sheet.

Whether Grant will play for the Knicks is another question. The offer of $17 million over six years was made on July 1, giving the Bullets 15 days or until Friday to match it or lose Grant. The Bullets had claimed there was no way New York could have made the offer on the deadline without tampering. Grant, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 18 points and 6.8 rebounds last season. The Knicks hope that he, along with recently acquired Rolando Blackman, can add scoring punch to a team that lacked it last season.

ON ANY CAR OR LT. TRUCK Under NBA rules, Grant can be re-signed as a veteran free agent by the Bullets without regard to the salary cap. However, it would leave them with little money to use on Tom Gugliotta, their first-round draft pick. Nonetheless, chances are good the Bullets will match the sheet and keep Grant. General manager John Nash, in New York to attend the hearing, said the team considers Grant a higher priority than Gugliotta.

As for the tampering chage, the specifics of which weren't spelled out, special master Ted Clark said in his decision: "I conclude that there was no such communication prior to July 1. "I do not find that the speed with which the negotiations were concluded to be consistent with that conclusion." Instant CrnHi TODAY TO QUALIFIED BUYERS ooodyear unirdyal tires Free Credit Card ASK FOR DETAILS liMtLLI QUrrj YOKOHAMA 7irfOlt BFGoodrich aniocESTone went into a brief decline after his triumph in April. "I'm not saying things like 'I'm going to win but if I can get off to a good start I'll be in good shape." And Faldo, exuding the quiet confidence that helped him to two Masters victories and two British Open titles in a four-year span, dubbed Couples as the most likely to succeed among 44 Americans. "He has the most shots," Faldo said. The ability to play a vast variety of shots in particular the knockdown, bump-and-run approach so common in Britain and so foreign to many Americans could be a critical factor in the winds that frequently howl in from the Firth of Forth, rippling the gorse and heather of Muirfield's intimidating rough.

Tom Weiskopf says that factor could be fatal to American hopes. The conditions of the course and weather are such, he predicted, that an American cannot win. PGA champion John Daly agreed. "I don't give myself a chance," he said after an exhibition of his wraparound swing and enormous distance had startled a Scots gallery gathered around the practice tee. "It's a new experience.

"It's a different game of golf than I'm used to. It's a learning experience." Faldo, so well-suited to that game of golf, is heavily favored in the chase for the $190,000 first prize. Close behind him are such fixtures as Seve Ballesteros of Spain, Ian Woosnam of Wales and Bern-hard Langer of Germany. BRAKES -STRUTS ALIGNMENTS PIEASE CALL FOR QUOTES WITH THIS AD EXP. 73192 FREE NATIONWIDE WARRANTY ON ALL PRODUCTS 1 SERVICF8 finish.

"A boxer doesn't get tough until he gets knocked down," Azinger said. But it was not an instant revival. "When I left here in '87 I was heart-broken," he recalled. Almost a year later, a victory at Bay Hill put him back on track. "It's not like it hurt my career," Azinger said.

"I could have looked on it as a one-time chance, but I used it as a measuring stick. "Before '87 nobody knew who I was. Now I feel I can stack up against the best players in the game today." Azinger, with a particular affinity for the British style of golf, has a chance to reaffirm his stature in the game in the tournament that begins today. "I've been playing extremely well for the last six weeks," he said, pointing to a final-round challenge in the U.S. Open and a third-place finish a week later.

In the oldest of all golfs tournaments, Azinger faces a 156-man field led by Faldo, and a new wave of talent that has risen to the top of world golf. They include Americans Fred Couples and Davis Love III each the winner of three titles and more than $1 million already this season along with Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal and Colin Montgomerie of Scotland. "That hangover after winning the Masters is over," said Couples, who It's In The Stsnrs! Fun, Excitement And The Best In Pro TEAMTENNIS ft -O It A Stars win on the road jour, ouptr markets roxnue, lornam rare, NJ World Class PHOENIX Gretchen Magers and coach Larry Stefanki won 6-5 in mixed doubles Tuesday night to clinch a 26-24 win for the New Jersey Stars over the Phoenix Smash in World TeamTennis play. Magers and Stefanki won their tiebreaker 5-3 over Ros Fairbank-Nideffer and Ellis Ferriera to cap a Stars comeback that began in the previous match when Matt Lucena defeated Greg Holmes 6-3 in men's singles. Lucena's win gave the Stars a 20-19 lead.

New Jersey, now 2-3t also got a win from its women's doubles team of Ann Grossman and Magers, who downed Fairbank-Nideffer and Anne Smith 6-4. The Stars return home for matches tomorrow night and Saturday at the Hamilton Park Center in Florham Park. The Stars face the Tampa Bay Action tomorrow night and the Raleigh Edge on Saturday. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. HOME MATCH SCHEDULE II matches begin pm Frict Fit -7 17 Tampa Bay Action $10 Sat -718 Raleigh Edgt $jo Vd-7g Ncwpon Beach Dukes $i) Thuiv-723 Tampa Bay Action $io Wed.

-729 Sacramento Capitals $0 San Antonio Racquets $10 CMidnm li tt Vmder, KM U.c Pro TEAMTENNIS! Six Action-packed Matches Great Seats Still Available! Tickets Only no. each only Dennis Eckersley and Paul Molitor played in All-Star games before 1983, the year the NL's dominance came to a close. Ozzie Smith is the lone holdover from those days on the Nationals. These days, there's a new breed of ballplayers and, whether anyone believes the All-Star game indicates the strength of each league, a new team on top. "I think there is a lot of young talent, in the AL East especially," Tom Kelly said.

"That's why the AL East is going to become dominant again. The last five, six, seven years, the AL West was dominant." never batted in a major-league game, and the 25-year-old Cleveland ace got his hit while wearing a Texas Rangers batting helmet. If any of the rookie stars was nervous, it did not show, at least not in the game. Fryman, however, made a wild throw on his first warmup grounder of the evening, and the ball went into the stands behind first base and hit the husband of NL president Bill White's secretary in the chest. Even with the influx of new blood, a few AL veterans made their marks.

Wade Boggs, Kirby Puckett and Cal Ripken who have combined for 25 All-Star ap pearances, each singled during the first inning. Ripken was the first of them ever to make an Ail-Star team, doing it in 1983, the season he led Baltimore to the World Series championship and was the league's MVP. That was the same season that Fred Lynn's grand slam ended the NL's streak of 11 straight All-Star victories; since then, the AL has won seven of 10. "It doesn't mean anything. It's just bragging rights," Puckett said.

"That's all." Then again, he didn't play in the days when the AL never won. Of the 28 players on this year's AL roster, Game Continued from CI scored a three-base error on John Kruk. Mussina, who along with Fryman and Baerga is 23, pitched one inning, retiring the side in order. Winning pitcher Kevin Brown, Juan Guzman and Charles Nagy, each in their first All-Star game, all worked one scoreless inning. Plus, Nagy also became the first AL pitcher to get a hit in All-Star play since Ken McBride of the Los Angeles Angels in 1963.

Nagy has A a A A inUK'LU MM M0ET8 CHAHD0N KOqRWQ5 SAMMQNS CABLE ADVERTISING mommnowH injKiifliiii iranMiH tl I A.