Quad-City Times from Davenport, Iowa • 31

Section QUAD-CITY TIMES Friday, July 10, 1998 Auto racing: 6S SPORTS DEPARTMENT: (319) 383-2285 nMMMBMi CHICAGO BULLS Rumors are running wild, but there are few details on new coach few days will, interview five people, according to a source close to the selection process who spoke on condition of anonymity. If mj i season, and who the Bulls hire likely will play a big part in his decision. "Michael has no veto power," Reinsdorf said. "I said I was going to talk to Michael. Is that saying he has veto power? Of course not.

Michael wouldn't want that." Of the candidates, Floyd is the least surprising. He's a friend of general manager Jerry Krause, an all-important factor after Krause's tenuous relationship with Jackson. He's a defensive specialist, also a priority for a Chicago coach. He's also young, and the Bulls want a long-term coach who can lead them through the post-Jordan era. "He's a very fine coach.

We think he has done a terrific job," Iowa State president Martin Jischke said last week. "I know there have been discussions between In addition to Iowa State coach Tim Floyd, long considered the replacement-in-waiting for Phil Jackson, the Bulls are looking at current NBA assistants Paul Silas (Charlotte), Scott Skiles (Phoenix), Rick Carlisle (Indiana) and Ron Rothstein (Cleveland). And while Michael Jordan the management of the Bulls and coach Floyd," Jischke said. "Tim has kept us apprised of those discussions. I don't think those discussions have come to a formal offer." But Floyd has his drawbacks.

While Rothstein and Silas were one-time NBA coaches, Skiles coached professionally in Greece and Carlisle is a longtime NBA assistant, Floyd has no professional coaching experience. Jordan has said he won't play for someone who doesn't have NBA experience, but he also said he wouldn't play for anyone but Jackson. Which brings up the Jackson factor. It was no secret the past few seasons that Krause considered Floyd as BULLS Please turn to Page 5S Reports have ISU's Floyd as 1 of 5 finalists in Chicago CHICAGO (AP) There is no shortage of rumors, with a new name surfacing every day as a possible coach for the Chicago Bulls. And there's a short list, with at least five names on it.

But just who if anyone is the front-runner to be the new coach of the sitf-time NBA champs? Well, that's anybody's guess. "Reading the sports pages makes me not want to read the rest of the paper because at least 50 percent of what I read in the sports pages is incorrect' Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said Thursday. What's known is that Chicago has, or in the next fc. SOME TOP CANDIDATES Tim Floyd: Iowa State coach. Paul Silas: Charlotte assistant.

Scott Skiles: Phoenix assistant Rick Carisle: Indiana assistant. Floyd has been consulted about the hiring process, Reinsdorf said His Airness won't pick the coach. Jordan has yet to decide whether he'll return next MIDWEST LEAGUE 2-MINUTE nc 3 Qms yi)SQuTJ(yJUU mf). McNeal's homer helps ignite Q-C By Roger Bates QUAD-CITY TIMES -4 "SWI if "I Fort Wayne pitchers tried once too often to slip a slider past Quad- first baseman Aaron McNeal. "They've been trying to get me put on sliders, so I was ready for it this time," said McNeal after his three-run home run carried the River Bandits to a 6-3 Midwest League victory Thursday before a crowd of 1,335 at John O'Donnell Stadium.

McNeal, who had a run-scoring single in the second inning, launched his seventh homer of the season during a four-run fourth -JIT ASSOCIATED PRESS Under the tag Magglio Ordonez of the Chicago White Sox avoids the tag of Kansas City Royals catcher Sal Fasano. The Royals won 6-4. Baseball: 3S that made a winner out of Carlos Mercedes, who struggled to his fifth victory against eight losses. Mike Rose's sacrifice, following a walk to J.J. Thomas and a single by Eric Cole, set up McNeal's blast to right-center field Score: Quad-Cities 6, Fort Wayne 3.

Key: First baseman Aaron McNeal picks up four RBI for the struggling Bandits. 5S: Box score, notes. fa Finally, it's official: Selig is commissioner CHICAGO AP) Bud Selig -was unanimously elected baseball's ninth commissioner Thursday, nearly six years after he took over the post on an acting basis. Selig, the Milwaukee Brewers owner since 1970, will put the shares of his team in a trust. His election marks the first time an owner was picked to fill the post.

In the past, commissioners had been independent. The vote by the owners was 30-0. "I think people recognized the If 4T Mr' I- 7 'p'kit'in-Si. 1 being done," r-vv 1 KToiirVnrir 'J VI Mets co-owner Fred iihi wuponsaiu. h- Larry FisherOUAD-CITY TIMES New Quad-City River Bandits pitcher Brad Lldge will make his professional debut tonight at John O'Donnell Stadium.

Top-draft pick is anxious to throw first pro pitch There was a great turnaround in baseball, and that kept carrying. Doubles by Barry Wesson and Pat Cutshall, and Joseph Cathey's groundout -made it 5-2. "Aaron has good pop for a young man," River Bandits manager Mike Rojas said. "His best power is to the opposite field, and his ball has a lot of backspin, which tends to make it carry when he goes to right." McNeal was happy with the result, but he would have been satisfied with a run-scoring sacrifice fly. "I didn't think it was going out, 1 but I knew it was going to at least get in the tying run," McNeal said.

Mercedes gave up a pair of first-winning runs when he hung a pitch to Aaron Jaworowski, who lined it for a two-run double. He two more hits in the fifth as the Wizards drew within 5-3 before iur ning things over to the bullpen. Jason McCarter, Joe Messman and Brian Hecht set the Wizards down without a hit over the final four innings to preserve the Bandits' victory "Even though we had some walks (seven) and errors (three), it was a pretty good performance," said Rojas, who had blasted his team's second-half effort following Wednesday's 9-5 loss to Fort Wayne. "The bullpen gave us a great performance. They haven't thrown much lately." Steve Baherson "It's been strange the last couple of months, waiting to sign.

In a lot of ways, I've been going through withdrawal," Lidge said. "Something's been missing. I'm glad to get it going again." Since draft day, he has spent time at his parents' home in suburban Denver doing what he could to stay in shape and prepare for his eventual signing. "Things played out a little better than I thought they would. I'm glad to get the opportunity to sign and get on with my career," Lidge said.

"I was in the first half of first-round picks to sign, and I didn't want to delay things too long. I just want to get going." Lidge will be eased into his starting role with Quad-Cities. He expects to work no more than three innings Saturday, and River Bandits pitching coach Bill Ballou said that a patient, steady approach will help Lidge ease his way into his new profession. "We'll limit him to 50, 60 pitches, and we'll work things up from there, adding an extra 10 to 15 pitches per start," Ballou said. "He's been a starter in a good college program, and starting here as a starter will be good for him.

"This league will be a good test for him," Ballou said. "He should be able to compete here, and he won't be in over his head. It's a good place for him to start and to -LIDGE Please turn to Page 2S ON the eve of his first appearance in a Quad-City River Bandits uniform, Brad Lidge guarantees one thing. "I expect to compete. One way or another, I expect to be competitive, and that's probably all I have a right to expect," the newest starting pitcher on the Quad-Cities staff said.

After all, it's been almost two months since he put the wraps on an 8-2 junior season at Notre Dame. "I'm sure I'll need to relax and focus," Lidge said. "It's been a while, and I can't expect to be as sharp as I was. I just want to compete." Houston's first-round selection and the 17th pick overall in the get the credit. sollg It happened on his watch." Selig was part of the group that helped force Fay Vincent to resign on Sept.

7, 1992. He was angered that both Vincent and Peter Ueberroth deemed themselves impartial and immune to the owners' wishes. "A commissioner is not a czar sitting above the law," Selig said as his election approached. "Yes, a commissioner has a lot of power, but it must be confined to certain areas." INSIDE Sports In Brief 2S Baseball Scoreboard ...45 High Auto racing June draft will make his professional debut Saturday for the River Bandits. The 6-foot-3 right-hander is scheduled to start for Quad-Cities in its 7 p.m.

game against Fort Wayne, and it's a challenge that Lidge welcomes. ILLINOIS FOOTBALL DEERY BROTHERS RACING lllini ready for Camp Rantoul Aikey continues to dominate series nort for Aikev. Turner's team to get out of town Cedar Falls driver wins 13th race of '98 By Josh Gilliam QUAD-CITY TIMES v. 'I tice fields, including one with lights, locker facilities, an outdoor weight-training facility that will be tented, barracks that have been converted to dormitory-style rooms and a good ol' U.S. government-regulation mess hall.

"It will be a set-up similar to what the Bears have in Plat-teville," Illinois sports information director Dave Johnson said. "There won't be any need for cars, and the players will actually bus into Champaign for our media day in August. "There is a feeling that it will cut out a lot of the distractions ILLINI Please turn to Page 5S 5 first five laps. Aikey then showed the first glimpse of superiority on the eighth lap when he jumped from third to first with one quick move. "My car was really fast off the corner," Aikey said, "and nobody could stick to the inside like I could." Aikey used that inside advantage to his favor by pulling away from the rest of the field.

Dominacki remained in second for most of the race, but he fell nearly a half-lap behind Aikey toward the middle of the feature. The race was caution-free the whole way, but it didn't matter to Aikey, who claimed his 13th victory of the season and fifth win out of nine Summer Series events. One of those five wins took place June 4, the first wire-to-wire victory at Daven- "I was awesome last time, but this time, I could do anything I wanted to," said Aikey, who currently is third in the season points standings. "My car was just perfect. She was bad to the bone." Dominacki finished in second as the top two racers in the points standings finished third and fourth.

Mike Smith, the pole-sitter, finished third and is second in points. He held off points leader Mark Burgtorf at the finish to trim Burgtorf 's already slim points standings lead to two Kevin Pittman, who led the first seven laps of the race, rounded out the ton five with a strong finish. Results: 4S By Steve Batterson QUAD-CITY TIMES For the Illinois football team, preseason drills come complete with a mess hall this year. Shortly after the Fighting lllini report to fall camp in early August, the team will pack up and move lock, stock and shoulder pads to new preseason training quarters at the former Chanute Air Force base in Rantoul, 111. There, the Fighting lllini will have at their disposal three prac-X Domination.

Bob Dominacki of Bettendorf might be nicknamed "The but it was Jeff Aikey who did all the dominating Thursday night in the second installment of the '98 Deery Brothers Summer Series at the Davenport Speedway Cedar Falls' Aikey won his heat and started the feature on the outside of row four. It didn't take him very long to improve on his position, however, as he took ovjjr third place within the ASSOCIATED PRESS Coach Ron Turner Is hoping for fewer distractions when his team opens football camp later this month In Rantoul, III..