The Miami News from Miami, Florida • 15

Laicecs tnniaike St 15 corEseciative Heat agrees to TV package CHARLIE NOBLES Gam summary. 6B Wilkena wins 600th, 3B I- vf r. I I i i 4 i I "Any time we play as well as we did, it is easier to sustain encouragement and positive reinforcement through a loss," he said. "We played exceptionally well, and, of course, it is always tough to continue to come up short." "I feel we're right there (as a team)," said Warriors center Ralph Sampson. "Now all we need is the experience that a winning team needs.

We're not that far away, really." Sampson, who was held to 14 points but led both teams with 16 rebounds, said the Warriors could have won. "Basically, we had this game won," he said. "The bottom line is that we didn't do the job down the stretch. We weren't able to execute the way we needed to and the Lakers did." Scott, who was named Monday as the NBA's Player of the Week for the first time in his career, hit 9 of 11 shots in the second half and has been the Lakers' leading scorer during the winning streak. He scored 30 points last night.

The Lakers' play the Los Angeles Clippers tonight. The Clippers have lost 11 straight. the two seasons prior to 1986-87, but Green said the deal with the Heat should bring the station much more popularity. "That's what we're hoping," he said. "We're hoping that some other things will happen also.

We just want to bring the television station up and be the kind of station everybody kind of looks to for the special kinds of programming that we intend to do." Meanwhile, SportsChannel Florida was more secretive about its arrangement with the Heat pending a press conference today at Joe's Stone Crabs on Miami Beach. "We'll have an announcement of some kind or the other," said Rod Mikler, SportsChannel Florida's promotions and marketing man, ending the conversation. Lewis Schaffel, the Heat's general manager, was unavailable for comment. Based in Boca Raton, SportsChannel Florida has made considerable in-roads with state athletic teams in less than a year. The cable company has contracts to do basketball and baseball at the universities of Florida, Miami and South Florida.

The Miami Heat has settled on 1 its television package. WBFS-Channel 33 will televise a number of the Heat's road games next season, while SportsChannel Florida, a cable company, will handle the home games. The National Basketball atlon expansion franchise begins play in the 1988-89 season. Channel 33, an independent, won out over two other independents Channels 6 and 39 for the rights to Heat road games for the next five seasons. Channel 33 intends to televise 25 games next season 21 regular season and four preseason, according to Roger Green, Channel 33's national sales manager.

"It's a major breakthrough for us," said Green, who sat in on Channel 33's negotiations with the Heat along with Jerry Carr, the station's general manager. "As you might imagine, we're jumping around and dancing a flot." Channel 33 handled University (of Miami basketball telecasts for INGLEWOOD, Calif. They've posted their 15th straight victory, but the Los Angeles Lakers realize that while a winning streak may be the envy of the league, it's consistency that marks a champion. "I don't think 15 is all that important. It's more important that we continue to play well," Byron Scott said last night after the Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors 117-113.

The 15-game streak is the Lakers' longest in Pat Riley's seven seasons as head coach. The Lakers set an NBA record in 1971-72 with a 33-game winning streak with Riley in uniform. "We're not really talking about it," Riley said. "Our goal is to win one game. The players are thinking about it, I'm sure, but if you win one game at a time, it takes care of itself." Warriors coach George Karl said the game helped build the morale of his players.

Associated Prtft Pat Riley was not pleased with his team's first-half play Section B' Wednesday. January 1 3, 1 988 The Miami News ODD "fid) iMelboume tempts Orioles to fly north ucsuULi PEDRO GOMEZ Mlemi Mm Staff The Baltimore Orioles will play 10 games at I Bobby Maduro Miami Stadium this spring the I team lowest total in eight years. Could this be a sign that the Birds are flying the coop? Team traveling secretary Phil Itzoe says no but the signs, however, might indicate otherwise. A year ago a Melbourne banker made some noise i about trying to lure the Orioles to that community. Although nothing seemed to emerge from those talks, Orioles' owner Edward Bennett Williams sent a letter to the community expressing "his assurance that the club had a genuine interest in the project." This week, Brevard County developer Frank Tsamoutales said he has discussed with county commissioners a plan to build a $10 million stadium near Melbourne that would be the new spring training home of the Baltimore Orioles, The I 3 Associated Press reported.

Negotiations between Brevard County and the team, which has trained in Miami for decades, have taken place off and on for months, according to The AP. The county recently sent team officials a letter saying the county is "committed to exploring various avenues to build a facility for the Orioles and providing you with your spring training needs." i in fact, Brevard County commissioners are considering raising the county's tourist tax to 3 from 2 percent and using the third cent for a bond issue to pay back any private investor willing to put up the stadium money. It has not been uncommon for major league baseball teams to pull out of their longtime spring homes and opt for a sleepy citrus community that is W-M ready to put its name on both the baseball and i i is economic map. The Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and New York Mets are starting over this year in Plant City, Haines City and St. Lucie County, respectively.

And just last year, the Texas Rangers re-planted their roots in Plant City after having been in Pompano Beach for years. It is no secret that the lure of major league baseball for the six week spring-time span translates into big money for such communities which are willing to do whatever possible to bring in a major league baseball team. Perhaps the Orioles are only looking 20 miles to the north to Joe Robbie Stadium where the team will play two additional "home" games this year. Whether the Orioles are looking for a new home or not, the fact is that being the southern-most outpost in the Grapefruit League puts Baltimore at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to scheduling spring training games. The scheduling problems appear to be showing themselves more this year than ever before.

The Orioles, who have averaged 15 home dates a year for the past three years, will probably have their smallest attendance total since 1984 when the club drew 34,973 in 11 home games. The problem, which has been compounding for years, is that teams do not appear willing to make an overnight trip to South Florida. With 12 of the 18 teams that train in Florida in the central section of the state, a four or five hour bus ride to Miami almost certainly requires an overnight stay. Only five teams will play at Miami Stadium. Of those the Yankees will make five trips, the Mets two and the Rangers, White Sox and Braves one each.

"It is our general practice, and of most teams, that if you don't have to stay overnight you don't," said Laurel Prieb, traveling secretary for the Orlando-based Minnesota Twins. "Our policy is one overnight Associated Press Willie Stargell is the 1 7th player to be elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in the first year of eligibility Willie Stargell overwhelmed by first-ballot vote Stargell's statistics, 6B MICHAEL MARTINEZ New York Times Mtwt Svrvtct voted into the hall in his first year of eligibility, not counting the original five who were selected in 1936. The last player elected in his first year was Willie McCovey in 1986, the only player selected that year. "All that hard work and sacrifice, I never thought it would feel like this," Stargell said. "I never thought I would have a day like this.

I'm overwhelmed." No other player among the 45 who were listed this year had more than 50 percent of the votes. Tony Oliva was third with 202 votes, followed by Orlando Cepeda, 199; Roger Maris, 184; Harvey Kuenn, 168; Bill Mazeroski, 143; Luis Tiant. 132, and Maury Wills, Please sea STARGELL. 3B of America. A player had to be selected on at least 75 percent of the ballots, which equaled 321 this year.

Stargell's big day, however, was just another long one for Jim Bunning, the former pitcher. He missed by only 4 votes of being voted in and now has been listed 12 years in a row without totaling the necessary ballots. Bunning, a congressman from Kentucky who won a total of 224 games In both leagues during 17 seasons, earned 74.2 percent of the votes. A year ago, he was 21 votes short. After 15 years, a player is removed from the ballot and must wait three years before he can be considered by the veterans committee.

The 47-year-old Stargell. currently a coach with the Atlanta Braves, became only the 17th player to be Please see ORIOLES. 3B NEW YORK Willie Stargell. the longtime Pittsburgh Pirate slugger who struck a formidable pose at the. plate and in the clubhouse, gained admission to the Baseball Hall of Fame last night in his first year of eligibility.

Stargell, who had a career .282 average and hit 475 home runs in 21 years for the Pirates before he retired after the 1982 season, was named on 352, or 82.4 percent, of the 427 ballots that were returned by eligible members of the Baseball Writers Association Shula says playoffs should be classics LYNNE SNIERSON Miami News Reporter Humr'- Guerrero getting back into auto racing cockpit In September, Roberto Guerrero lay in a coma in an Indianapolis hospital bed, suffering from critical head injuries. By November, the 29-year-old Colombian driver was up and around. Tomorrow, Guerrero will climb into the cockpit of an Indy-car for the first time since Sept. 1 1, 1987, when he hit the wall at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Wayne Gretzky plans wedding Wayne Gretzky, 26, of the Edmonton Oilers confirmed yesterday that he and movie actress Janet Jones, a native of St.

Louis, are engaged and plan to be married this summer in Edmonton, Alberta. They've been dating since last summer. Jones, 25, has appeared in such films as "Chorus Line" and "The Flamingo Kid." Two years ago she was romantically involved with tennis pro Vitas Gerulaitis. Garvey to announce retirement Steve Garvey of the Padres will announce his retirement from major league baseball, it was reported yesterday by two San Diego television stations. From Mumi Nrwi aire services end other sources Louis Hillary Park Shula, who was NBC-TV's analyst fo the AFC semifinals and will serve in a similar capacity on Sunday.

It's also a rematch, and that always adds to the drama and excitement in a heavyweight bout. "When the game was over last year, I've never seen a city so demoralized," said Shula, who was a rookie defensive back on the Browns in 1951. "This has been a longtime coming. (Cleveland head coach) Marty Schottenheimer used this to stress to the entire team that it's not enough to get there (the AFC championship). They've got to win it.

That's Marty's whole theme. The Browns are a really driven team." Desire may not be enough against a really talented Denver team that has been able to compensate for injuries to key starters all season. "Elway keeps making the plays," said Shula. "They've had problems in their secondary, but they've been able to overcome Pleas sea SHULA. SB nailed down a trip to Super Bowl XXI.

But Denver quarterback John Elway took over on his 2-yard line with 5:32 on the clock and bit Cleveland's Dawg defense for 98 yards in 15 plays. His scoring pass to Mark Jackson with 37 seconds left to play and the PAT locked the score at 20-20. Then in overtime, Denver's defense held the Browns and put the ball back in Elway's hands. He threw strikes of 22 and 28 yards to his receivers to set up the winning field goal at 5:38 and give the Broncos a 23-20 victory and their first shot at the world championship since Super Bowl XII. The Drive actually had a much more far-reaching effect.

"What Elway did in the time he did it gave him the confidence in his career to go on," said Shula. He went on this season to be the conference's most dominant player surrounded by a talented cast. The Browns, with the constantly maturing Bernie Kosar at the helm, are no slouches either. "This is a great match-up," said When the Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns met in the AFC Championship a year ago, it took five quarters to settle the outcome. The last two times the Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings knocked heads, overtime was also needed before a winner could be declared.

If these four teams in Sunday's NFL conference championships follow precedent, the games should be long. But Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula thinks they hardly shape up as tedious. "You couldn't have found two better teams for the AFC Championship. The two best teams are in it," he said. "It was a tremendous game between Denver and Cleveland last year.

That drive to put it into overtime was one of the great drives of all-time." It happened just 12 months ago, but what is known simply as "The Drive" is already legendary. The favored Browns scored late in regulation and had seemingly Elway has come of age this season.