The Miami News from Miami, Florida • 16

4B The M.amt News Fr.day, August 14. 1987 T'T 3 Firasoeir adds msew meaoQinig to fteoTO yflMbacEc' BRUCE HOOLEY Mimt Ht Wip.M., i scored on a 97-yard run one time, which surprises a lot people. I could do what a 200-pound back could do." Johnson has seen evidence of such accomplishments. He only hopes they're not forever relegated to the past tense because of Frazier's weight Rain. "We are not concerned about his ability to catch and run." Johnson said.

"He has excellent ability and excellent hands, but a lot of things have to happen for him to be at fullback. He needs to understand the offense, for one." The consequences of a confused Frazier could be dire. No doubt. Hurricanes quarterbacks would be the poorer should the sizable sophomore miss a blocking assignment or worse, run into them as they dropped to pass. "I've got to use my weight to my advantage." Frazier said.

"I can't make mistakes like hitting one of my own teammates. As big as I am. I could hurt someone. The only guys I want to hurt are the opponent." me." he said. "I've only got three years left and I've got to do the best with those three years that I can.

If I move over to defense, I might waste one of those years and then I'd only have two. I don't want to lose another year." Just another 1 5 or so pounds. "I've lost a little of my quickness, and to get it back I'm going to need to play at about 240 or 245," Frazier said. "I'm still agile, though. I have to work on my ducking and weaving the moves a running back makes.

Things feel a little rusty right now, but they're getting better. I'm confident I can get back to where I was." Frazier feels the cobwebs mostly in his groin and thigh muscles. Tight from a year of inactivity, they've refused to react as they did at Hallandale. when Frazier performed feats uncommon for a player his size. "Everyone expects a guy like me to be someone who carries people, but when I go through the hole I'm looking for ways to dodge or jump over people," Frazier said.

"I "I was really worried if that year away might take mv desire to play football." said Frazier, a 230-pound Street Smith All-American his senior year at Hallandale High. "But since I've started practicing, it's all come back to me." Frazier and freshman Shannon Crowell are the fullbacks vying for second-team duty behind starter Melvin Bratton. Eric Ham. the backup on the depth chart, may not be ready by the Sept. 5 season-opener against Florida because of surgery to remove scar tissue from his knee.

"Darius is too big to play at fullback right now." head coach Jimmy Johnson said. "We're going to try him there, and if he can play it he'll really solve some problems for us. We'd love to have a big. strong guy like that fit into the position. Without question, he has the athletic ability to be an outstanding player.

Whether it's at fullback is what we want to see." Frazier, who also starred at linebacker in high school, sees a Hurricanes defense two-deep at every position and prefers staying where he is. "Fullback is a better opportunity for Trips one and iwo passed without incident. Now it was time for a third run through the maze of elevated rope demanding the chopped-step precision of fresh legs. Having negotiated the drill both straight-on and laterally. Darius Frazier was this time asked to hop his 260-pound frame through the barrier.

Tongue wagging, enthusiasm lagging, he bent in fatigue and stared failure in the face. Then a horn sounded, a signal to Frazier and the University of Miami's other first-year football prospects to leave their current stations and rotate to the next. Whether he would have passed the test was no longer important. In Frazier's mind, simply wanting to was reward enough. As a Proposition 48 recruit last year.

Frazier could not practice or play with the Hurricanes as the first year of his eligibility expired. The more he waited, the more he weighed, ballooning from 253 pounds in the fall to 278 by spring. Amid that sizable gain came the haunting notion of a telling loss. Darius Frazier RAMS, from 1 I v- TJJ Houston Oilers. His fifth field goal came after eighth-round draft choice Michael Clemens returned a punt 51 yards to the Oilers' 10-yard line.

Sherman Cocroft returned an interception by Houston quarterback John Witkowski 5 yards, setting up Kenney's touchdown bomb to Colbert. Lowery, who kicked five field goals against Pittsburgh in regular-season play Dec. 14. 1980. added a 42-yarder with 1:46 to play.

The Chiefs worked on their ground game in the first half and took a 13-10 halftime lead on field goals of 39 and 38 yards by Lowery and a 1-yard dive by Herman Heard. Houston quarterback Warren Moon scrambled out of the pocket in the first quarter and hit Drew Hill with a 19-yard touchdown pass, and Tony Zendejas kicked a 23-yard field goal in the second quarter. The Oilers, who went unbeaten last preseason, took a 17-13 lead early in the third period on a 1-yard dive by Hubert Oliver. The touchdown was set up by Curtis Duncan's 44-yard kickoff return to the Chiefs' 47. 40-yard jaunt.

Jim Everett completed eight of 11 passes in the first half as the Rams took a 20-7 lead, and Los Angeles had four first-half interceptions off Seattle quarterback Dave Krieg. "Jim Everett is in the process of developing from an efficiency standpoint," Rams coach John Robinson said. "We're making progress." The Rams' victory was marred by a couple of serious injuries: Starting linebacker Mark Jerue suffered torn knee ligaments and will undergo surgery, and rookie cornerback Clifford Hicks, a star in Los Angeles' victory over Denver in London Sunday, suffered a separated shoulder that will sideline him for up to six weeks. Another starting linebacker for the Rams, Carl Ekern, went out with a knee injury, but Robinson said it had not been determined how serious that injury was. Although Seattle looked sluggish in its preseason debut against the Rams, Seahawks coach Chuck Knox seemed pleased.

"The bad news is, we lost the game; the good news is, a lot of positive things happened," he said. "I really feel better about this football team now than I did last year at this same time. "Another good thing was nobody got hurt." Both the Seahawks and the Rams, who beat Denver 28-27 in England last Sunday, had finished the 1986 campaign with 10-6 records and figure to be among the NFL's better teams this season. Seattle closed out last season with five consecutive victories. Everett, beginning his second pro season, threw for 102 yards while playing the first half, including a 46-yard touchdown pass to Ron Brown.

The Rams scored all their 20 first-half points in the second quarter. In addition to Everett's scoring throw, Mike Guman scored on a 1-yard touchdown run and Mike Lansford kicked field goals of 24 and 4 1 yards. The Oilers' Chief problem: Lowery kicks 6 field goals HOUSTON Nick Lowery showed last night why he's the second most accurate kicker in NFL history. Kansas City's All-Pro kicked six field goals and Bill Kenney hit Darrell Colbert on a 40-yard touchdown bomb with 5:01 to play, lifting the Chiefs to a 32-20 NFL exhibition victory over the Don Strock practices with the Dolphins after signing a one-year contract yesterday Dolphins notebook Strock shelves his golf game DOLPHINS, ffB Miami since being traded to the Dolphins from the Los Angeles Rams in 1 98 1. He has been one of the team's most consistent and reliable defensive players.

But coming off a season when opposing offenses laid siege to the Miami defense, consistent and reliable yield few rewards. "Coach (Don) Shula has put out the message that there will be changes if things don't improve this season." Brudzinski said. "I think everybody is upset we were only 8-8 last season. No one on this team enjoyed being 8-8 and the coaching staff just wants to make sure it doesn't happen again." To that end, younger players are being allowed every opportunity to push veterans for a job. Competition is fierce.

And the competition between Brudzinski and second-round draft pick Rick Graf is perhaps among the most fierce. Certainly it is among the most visible. Early on, before training camp even opened. Graf was projected by some to start ahead of Brudzinski. It was a direct challenge to Brudzinski's job and the wily veteran wasn't about to sit back and watch the rookie take his spot.

"Competition works two ways," Brudzinski said. "It can motivate you and make you work harder or it can depress you. I wasn't about to get down. "I'm here to show the Miami Dolphins they can't write me off just because they drafted someone that plays the same position I do. I know I can play football in the NFL.

And if the Dolphins don't have me in their plans I know I can still play somewhere else." The 32-year-old Brudzinski is confident he can play well, regardless of where it is, because he rededicated himself to improving on last year's performance during the offseason. "I have the right attitude about this training camp," he said. "During the offseason lifted weights and kept my nose in the playbook. "I think that might be the difference from last year to this year for me. Everyone is going to get beat physically by somebody at some point because there are too many good offensive players in the NFL.

But if you can cut down on the mental mistakes, you can save yourself a lot of trouble." It is perhaps the mental aspect of the game that is keeping Brudzinski on the first team and Graf on the second throughout this training camp and going into Sunday night's first exhibition game against the Chicago Bears. "Graf is just learning the system now and he still isn't quite sure of himself," Shula has said. "He's an aggressive, intense player but he has to learn what he's doing." Oddly enough, it is Brudzinski who is helping Graf learn his assignments. "Graf is going to be a darn good ballplayer," Brudzinski said. "Once he gets the system down he's going to help this football team.

"When I first came out of college a guy named Rick Kay with the Rams helped me and I eventually beat him out for his job. I'm just doing the same for Rick." With one possible twist. "If they come in, learn the system and beat you out well, it's going to happen sometime." Brudzinski said. "Hopefully, it won't happen until I'm ready." And Graf realizes the man whose job he wants, is not yet ready. "I think coach Shula used me as a sort of psychological ploy," Graf said.

"He wanted to keep Bob honest and on his toes and I think it's worked. "Bob is having a good camp and I'm just trying to learn my way around so that I can eventually help this team down the road. I never expected to just walk in and take the place from Bob Brudzinski. He knows how to hold down his job." Dolphins-Bears game a sellout WASHINGTON Washington Redskins safety Curtis Jordan says tonight's preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers will serve as welcome relief from the tedium of training camp. "After all those monotonous drills, it will be good to play a game for a change," Jordan said.

"It's pretty boring covering the same guys over and over again." Steelers coach Chuck Noll has a much more serious view of the game. After enduring two straight losing seasons, Noll is anxious for his team to get off to a good start. "Winning is very important," Noll said. "You want to find out who you can win with we're trying to develop a winning attitude here." The Steelers' preseason record can often be used an indication of what lies ahead. From 1970 to 1984, Pittsburgh did not endure a losing preseason or regular season.

Then, two 1-3 preseason records were followed by 7-9 and 6-10 campaigns. The Redskins, meanwhile, have had a training camp marred by injuries, particularly to the team's running backs. George Rogers (sprained big toe). Kelvin Bryant (strained quadricep) and Dwight Garner (bruised foot) will all sit out tonight's game. The Dolphins' first game at Joe Robbie Stadium is a sellout and will be broadcast locally bv Channel 10 (WPLG) and ESPN (cable).

The remaining tickets for Sunday night's contest against the Chicago Bears were sold on an individual game basis by BASS ticket outlets yesterday. The tickets were gone by mid-afternoon, according to a BASS spokesperson. "Naturally we're very happy all South Florida can see the dedication game," said Dolphins owner Joe Robbie in a released statement. "It's a very special moment in Dolphins history." Armando Salguero he no longer wanted to play football. "He came to me in the morning and told me he didn't want to continue competing." Shula said.

The 6-foot-2. 263-pound offensive lineman was entering his third year with the Dolphins. He was chosen in the fifth round of the 1981 draft by Detroit. Dennis McKinnon will be making his first start for the Bears since Super Bowl XX. McKinnon, who missed all of last season because of left knee surgery, has been limited to working in one of the Bears' two-a-day practices.

"He's working once a day and he doesn't seem to have any soreness in his knees." Bears coach Mike Ditka said. "He's starting to look like the old Dennis SILEO, from 1 ARMANDO SALGUERO Miami Mew RpOffr Don Strock, an avid golfer who works at the Doral Country Club, didn't get a chance to get in a quick nine holes yesterday morning. It's mid-August and the veteran Miami Dolphins backup quarterback, who has stayed out of training camp nearly two weeks while a new contract was being negotiated, had football not golf on his mind. "I thought it was time to get my mind back on the game," Strock said yesterday after he signed a one-year contract and reported to camp. "1 think it's time to start working on getting back to where we want to be (the Super Bowl).

I'd like to see us all get another ring." Don Shula wouid probably like that, too, and part of a formula for getting into the playoffs and beyond is to have a solid backup for starter Dan Marino. "1 felt going into the preseason that it was important that (Strock) get a lot of work." Shula said. "We weren't anxious to have him sit out the entire preseason." Strock might have sat out longer if not for the respect he says he has for Shula and Charley Winner, the Dolphins' director of pro personnel. "I don't think you ever get exactly what you want out of your contract negotiations but I'm here out of respect for Shula and Charley." Now that he is in camp. Shula must decide whether he'll see any playing time Sunday night in Miami's exhibition opener against the Chicago Bears.

"We'll see how he works during the afternoon practice and tomorrow to make a decision on whether he'll play against the Bears," Shula said Walter Payton, the NFL's all-time leading rusher, is expected to play against the Dolphins, according to Ditka. But while the Chicago starters are expected to see about two quarters' worth of action, Payton will see considerably less time. "Walter will play a little bit but not nearly as much as other starters," Ditka said. Shula announced that quarterback Dan Marino's playing time Sunday will range between a half and a quarter depending on the quality of the plays in which he participates. "If we have long drives and he gets good work early, he'll be in for a quarter," Shula said.

"If he isn't getting good work, he'll go longer, but in no event will he go past a half." After Marino, backup Jim Jensen and rookie Jim Karsatos will share duty and Shula will decide during the game if Strock and free agent Lanny Dycus will play. On defense. Hugh Green may see his first game action since injuring his knee on Sppt. 21 of last year. "If he feels he's in good condition, he'll see some playing time," Shula said.

"We're not going to make a decision now." of this team," said Jankovich. "We're going to go on the assumption he's eligible, but he won't be able to compete until we're sure he's eligible." But Sileo's eligibility is not determined by U-M. NCAA rules are clear that if Sileo was a full-time student in 1982, he is no longer eligible to play and whether or not he was full-time at Maryland depends exclusively on Maryland's definition of a full-time student, said NCAA official Nancy Mitchell, who only commented on a set of circumstances and not on the people or schools involved. The NCAA does require that a full-time student take at least eight credit hours per term, and Maryland has the same standard, said spokeswoman Foa, who confirmed Sileo's class load as nine hours per term in 1982. In a statement released yesterday by Miami officials.

Sileo said, "I took nine hours of classes in both semesters during the 1982-83 academic year and plaved football in 1983 at Maryland. Other than that, I have no further comment. The matter is in the hands of the administrators." The whole scenario had Jankovich fuming yesterday. "Maryland has not been free from problems for quite some time and they might be doing something to cover themselves because of playing him when he was ineligible," Jankovich said, adding that U-M has requested Sileo's transcripts from Maryland. Sileo.

23. enrolled at Maryland's University College campus in the fall of 1982. He did not play football that year because he was ineligible, having graduated from high school with less than a 2.0 grand point average, according to two former coaches. He later transferred to the University of Cincinnati, then transferred to Miami in 1985. Last season was the 280-pound Sileo's first year as a player at U-M, and he emerged as a star, starting the last seven games of the regular season and leading the team in tackles for lost yardage.

William "The Refrigerator" Perry is in no danger of wasting away. He is currently weighing 325 pounds Bears quarterback Jim MrMahon will not plav against the Dolphins although he will be in uniform, according to Ditka The Bears will bring 91 players to Sunday night's exhibition game. Larry Lee. a seventh-year lineman, told Shula vesterdav Former Soith Miami High and Florida State University receiver On the sports scene Gulfstream to offer horsemen the richest schedule in Florida racing JOE DELGADO Miami Nvtftl CarrttpWMltnt which is the nation's largest in-water boat show, will again be staged at the Bahia Mar Resort and Yachting Center. Oct.

29. through Nov. 2. 1987. Now in its 28th year, the show has reached an unprecedented level of international influence and recognition, attracting consumers from all over the United States and numerous countries abroad.

Admission will be $7 for adults and $2 for children between the ages of 6 and 12. Children under 6 will be admitted free. Show hours will be from 10 a.m. everyday except for Thursday. Oct.

29. until 10 p.m. except for Sunday and Monday, the last davs of the show. For more information or entry forms, contact William Alexander at 873-2290. Pompano Park hosts trade show Breeders Crown Week at Pompano Park will be unlike any week the standardbred sport has ever seen.

In addition to the four 3-year-old divisions of the Breeders Crown, worth $2 million in purses, to be contested during that time period, the sport's first ever trade show and conference will be held. In addition, the United States Trotting Association, the governing body of the sport, will hold a board of directors meeting in South Florida during the week and a lavish Breeders Crown dinner-dance is also planned for Monday night. Nov. 9, at the Boca Raton Hotel and Club. Boat show scheduled for 28th time The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

Florida Derby annually carries the largest purse in the state's racing calendar. In the 36-year history of the Florida Derby, horses competing in the classic have gone on to account for 14 victories in the Kentucky Derby. 14 in the Preakness, and nine in the Belmont Stakes. Bahamas first entry in golf tournament The Bahamas is the first official entry in the Eighth Annual Golf Tournament of the Americas. Sept.

3-6. at Doral Country Club. Scratch golfers from 23 Western Hemisphere nations compete in the four-day, 72-hole event played under the auspices of the Florida State Golf Association. It is the largest amateur golf event, in terms of participating countries, in this hemisphere. Cost of the three-day event for handicap golfers, who will compete in various flights, is $150.

The entry fee includes daily prizes, cocktail parties and a closing banquet. Gulfstream Park will offer horsemen $3,380,000 in stakes, the richest schedule in the history of Florida racing, during its meeting Jan. 8 through March 5. according to Douglas Donn, the track president and chief executive officer. The 1988 stakes bonanza will exceed by $850,000 the previous record for a Florida winter racing meeting, set in 1986 at Gulfstream.

Included in the I9h8 total is $300,000 in Breeders' Cup awards compared to $325,000 in 1986. Hialeah's announced stakes purse total in its 1987 winter dates was S2.045.000. including S130.000 in Breeders' Cup awards. The highlight of the meeting will be the $500,000 guaranteed Florida Derby, a major preview of the Triple Crown, that will be contested on closing day. Saturday, March 5.

at a mile and an eighth. The Fresher News Everyday. The Miami Mews.