The Miami News from Miami, Florida • 11

Strawberry zips his lip: Mayor wants to lure O's to Hialeah nest teammates have their say Billy Ripkin getting chance. 4B Doug Sisk misses chance, 4B Results, linescores, 4B JOEY HOLLCMAN Miami Strawberry's derogatory comments about his teammates and manager Davey Johnson reported in the April issue of Esquire magazine are being blown out of proportion, the team certainly isn't breaking into "We Are Fam-a-lee" choruses in the dugout. "Everybody's making a big thing about it," said Carter. "But it's just one guy's opinion. It's over and done with now." Then, Carter talked for another 15 minutes about Strawberry and the article.

"Here's a guy that wanted to be traded last year," Carter said with a matter-of-fact tone that hinted more of bafflement than animosity. "He's a moody guy. He wants one thing one time and another thing another time. That's Darryl." If Johnson was especially upset at Strawberry, he must have vented his anger in yesterday's two-hour team meeting Please see CONTROVERSY. 4B MARTY KLINKENBERG Miami flaw Raponar Hialeah mayor Raul Martinez, aware the Baltimore Orioles are unhappy with local minor league training facilities, said yesterday he will contact the American League club to see if it is interested in moving into Western Dade County.

"We have not had any formal conversations with the Orioles but I expect that we will be in communication with them sometime in the near future," Martinez said. "Once we are able to secure an option with land, we'll start talking. I think we can compete with any city to provide a facility. "In fact, if we get the land, I think we can offer a new facility that could be built to the needs of the team we are dealing with." The Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority, meanwhile, has announced plans of creating a three-person task force along with City of Miami and Dade County to help resolve the Orioles' problem. "Our main goal is to keep the Orioles where they are," said Sports and Exhibition Authority spokesman Jerry Bernfeld, who will be on the task force.

"They've been training in Miami for 29 years and we want them here as long as their franchise exists. Because of that, we hope to get on this as soon as possible." Bernfeld said as soon as a task force was formed, it would meet Please see HIALEAH. 4B New York Mets outfielder Darryl Strawberry left yesterday's spring training game against Baltimore early because of a tight right hamstring. Then again, maybe his problem was loose lips, or maybe a sprained brain. Whatever, Strawberry retired to the lockerroom in the top of the third inning, showered and left in the car he had driven to Miami from the Mets' new complex in Port St.

Lucie. It's safe to assume he didn't offer a lift to teammates Gary Carter and Lenny Dysktra, who also were out of the game by the fifth inning. For while the Mets were insisting Spaclal 10 th Miami Nawt FRANK J. PISANO Gary Carter looked relaxed yesterday Section Thursday. March 1 0.

1 988 The Miami News i Ch 1 Yr Poor serve, insects bug Graf in victory Navratilova, Laver, King, Borg, Court, McEnroe, Evert J-X. Steffi Graf had trouble with her serve and insects yesterday, but the top-seeded West German still swept past No. 9 seed Nathalie Tauziat of France to reach the quarterfinals of the Virginia Slims of Florida tournament. "I was 5 making too many mistakes," Graf said after a 6-2, 6-1 third-round victory. "My first serve wasn't 4 4 jfj.

going in and some of the bugs on the court should have had name tags on them." Fourth-seeded Gabriela Sabatina of Argentina breezed past Wendy Turnbull of Australia 6-1, 6-1 in the second round of the $300,000 tournament. Other winners included seventh-seeded Sandra Cecchi-ni of Italy and 1 1 th-seeded Mary Joe Fernandez of Miami. The 16-year-old Fernandez, ranked 22nd, eliminated Michelle Torres of Northfield, 6-1, 1 6-2. See more on Graf, page 3B. I 2 --J Dorsett wants trade to Pittsburgh Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett says he is surprised that the Pittsburgh Steelers 1 jjse are interested in him if Dallas decides to honor his trade request.

Dorsett, relegated to a backup role with the acquisi tion of Herschel Walker, has .1 said he would like to be traded. Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry has said he would honor the request if Dallas can get something worthwhile in return for the former Universi- Dorsett ty of Pittsburgh star. "I'm kind of surprised the Steelers are interested," Dorsett said. "I wish they had been interested 11 years ago. That where my roots are.

I ve always been a Steelers fan." Miami Nawi (II photos Rod Laver (above) stretches at the '68 Wimbledon; Navratilova shows her approval at an '88 tournament JjUHUm Wi.IDWJl.im I ipuig um.l.uHHm 4) ready to fly again Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, the myopic, bespectacled ski jump star of the Winter Olympics, has recovered the lucky pair of skis that launched him to fame. The unlikely hero of the British team, who won international recognition when he finished last in the 90-meter and 70-meter jumps in Calgary, disclosed yesterday he mislaid his favorite pair of skis after his final jump at the Games, and has only just found them. Now he plans to begin training again after all the ballyhoo of his appearance in Calgary. "I haven't had much sleep over the past couple of days," he said. Vho's the No.

1 all-time tennis player? Poll of the greatest players of all time. Panel Includes ESPN commentator Cliff Orysdale, NBC commentator Bud Collins and Lipton tournament chairman Butch Buchholz. MEN 1 4 WO. PRY8DALE COLLINS BUCHHOLZ CON8W8Ug 1. Rod Laver Rod Laver Rod Laver Rod Laver 2.

Bjorn Borg John McEnroe Bjorn Borg Bjorn Borg 3. Don Budge Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall John McEnroe 4. John McEnroe P. Gonzales P. Gonzales Ken Rosewall 5.

Connors-Hoad Bjorn Borg John McEnroe P. Gonzales WOMEN HO. ORYSDALE COLLINS BUCHHOLZ COW8EH8U8 1. Billie Jean King M. Navratilova M.

Navratilova M. Navratilova 2. M. Navratilova Billie Jean King Chris Evert Billie Jean King 3. Margaret Court Margaret Court Billie Jean King Margaret Court 4.

Chris Evert Chris Evert Margaret Court Chris Evert 5. M. Connolly M. Connolly Steffi Graf M. Connolly Crowd wasn't a factor When Camden High School's basketball team squeaked by the Atlantic City High School squad to win a regional state championship, there were no cheers from the crowd.

In fact, there was no crowd. Police ordered the fans to stay home and the game site was changed because of fears of an outbreak of violence among non-students. The consensus was obtained by allotting points to each selection. A first place was worth 10 points, second place 9, etc. Court and Evert finished with 23 points each, but Court was placed higher because two panelists picked her ahead of Evert.

Who's No. 1 Great debate continues Lendl won't play. 2B Tournament site map. 2B Graf. Mecir profiles.

3B LIPC at a glance. 3B ALAIN POUPART Cup may broaden competition America's Cup defenders scrambled yesterday to decide how to respond to a New Zealand challenger's offer to allow other nations to compete for the prestigious trophy. The cup holder, San Diego Yacht Club, and its defense manager, Sail America, have until Tuesday to accept New Zealand banker Michael Fay's proposal. A decision could be announced tomorrow. Fay, whose unorthodox challenge forced a one-on-one match, announced Tuesday he would allow other teams to compete for the right to race SDYC for the Cup.

But Fay has attached several key provisions to his proposal that could lead the yacht club to reject it, including starting the elimination series on Feb. 1, 1989 and using single-mast monohulls. Quote unquote Neal Walk, who played basketball at Miami Beach High School before going on to play in the NBA, talking about the hardships of being wheelchair-bound after having a non-malignant tumor removed from his spine in August: "There are days when I hate this chair. I'd like to be able to go out and ride a bike, play some basketball, tennis or go to the pool anything but sit on my rear end all day long. I'd like to be 6-foot-10 again." Miami Mwi NBC commentator Bud Collins and Lipton International Players Championships tournament chairman Butch Buchholz, includes Borg and McEnroe, along with Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, Pancho Gonzales and Ken Rosewall.

Among the women, the names include Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Margaret Court, Maureen Connolly, and yes, Steffi Graf. Graf, who won't turn 19 until June, will be a heavy favorite to defend her title when the LIPC begins Monday. Some say she's a favorite to become one of the all-time greatest players. Those comparisons are left to conjecture. The greatest player ever? It depends on who you talk to.

"The tendency is to consider the best player at the time," said ESPN commentator Cliff Drysdale, a former player who won four tournaments after the advent of open tennis in 1968. "I had no doubt Borg was the greatest player when (John) McEnroe came along and beat him. Then I thought, 'McEnroe may be the greatest But McEnroe's time at the top was so short and I'm not sure he could've beaten anybody else in the elite." That elite, according to Drysdale, hitting is to baseball or shooting is to basketball. Arguments often erupt over who is the best in a certain year. Thanks to computerized rankings, tennis doesn't have that problem.

It's there in black or white for all to see. The player ranked No. 1 in the rankings can be considered the best player during that year. Last year, it was Ivan Lendl for the men and Steffi Graf for the women. But the computer can't measure how today's great players would fare against the great ones of yesteryear.

Would Rod Laver have beaten Bjorn Borg? How about Martina Navratilova against Margaret Court? To this day, the debates rage on. Was Wilt Chamberlain the greatest basketball player ever? Has there ever been a better running back than Jim Brown? How about O.J. Simpson? Or Walter Payton? Was Ty Cobb the greatest ever to play baseball? Debates over players of different eras are as much a part of sports as Please see BEST. 2B Bell wants Chiefs to toe the line on foul shot High school report, 4B TOM HUMESTON Miami Maw Carraapoftdam seen in our last game against Miami High, which means we must have played a hell of a game," Bell said. "We've just been horrendous from the line.

Right now, I don't even mention it anymore at practice." This "horrendous" shooting has some people wondering if free throw shooting is the Achilles heel of the Carol City team a team attempting to win their second state championship in four years. After all. the Chiefs appear to have everything else required of a championship-caliber team. They've got size, speed, defensive ability, quality coaching and a desire to win. All of which is fine, but in a close game, can Carol City buckle down and concentrate enough to win it from the free throw line? Bell would rather not find out.

"I hope our games don't come down to free throws Please see CAROL CITY. 6B In the last meeting between the two teams, Carol City was even worse from the line hitting on just nine of 23 free throws and missing the front end of one-and-ones nine times. The poor shooting was overlooked for the most part in the last game, however, when the Chiefs' Corey Jackson made two free throws with three seconds left to give the Chiefs a 66-64 victory over the Stingarees in the Section 4-4A game. That victory advance Carol City to the state tournament in Lakeland, where the Chiefs will play a semifinal game against St. Petersburg Northeast tomorrow night at 8:30.

The pathetic shooting against Miami High was not unusual. The Chiefs had been shooting around the 70 to 75 percent range from the line, but the shooting percentage has taken a dive of late falling to 61 percent before the sectional game. "Our free throw shooting was the worst I've ever Extra points Bobby Dodd, former Georgia Tech football coach and athletic director, was admitted to West Paces Ferry Hospital late last night with a kidney infection. Dr. Bruce Green said Dodd's condition is stable The National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons have lost their last 19 games at Boston Garden while Boston has lost eight straight games at the Silverdome A contingent of St.

Louis business leaders will be allowed to present their case challenging the proposed Cardinals franchise move to Arizona during next week's National Football League owners' meeting. Front Miami Mn wlra Hrvlcn wid oHmt tourcm John Strickhouser It's only 15 feet, but for many basketball teams the distance between the free throw line and the basket appears to be much, much longer. In fact, it's a distance that often separates the losing teams from the winning ones. Just ask Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim, whose team's poor shooting from the line may have cost the Orangemen the 1987 NCAA championship. Or ask Carol City head coach Ernie Bell, whose team has had its own share of free throw shooting woes this season.

In the second of four meetings between the Chiefs and Miami High, Carol City made only nine of 21 free throws and missed the front end of one-and-ones four times in the fourth quarter. i.