Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 3

lite Puppa sets record, but Lightning falls Tampa Bay's goaltender sets a team record for saves, but New Jersey takes the season opener 2-1. In Sports Phillies win in 10; Jays take 2-0 lead Toronto tops Chicago 3-1 in Game 2 of the ALCS. Philadelphia beats Atlanta 4-3 as NLCS opens. In Sports Wm Ml mm Thursday October 7, 1993 Florida's Best Newspaper Weather High, mid-80s; 70 chance of rain. 2B 25 cents AN EDITION OF THE New York Times COLUMN ONE Kids agree: They'll all miss Mike Aidid's aides say captured pilot is healthy.

6A What makes Aidid tick? 6A The United States will send 2,000 more troops to ensure the security of forces there, then withdraw in about six months. If Somalia is not able to run its own affairs and feed itself, and the United Nations is not able to put together an effective military and logistical force to replace the Americans, a U.S. pullout would almost certainly trigger a reversion to chaos there, a failure for which Clinton could be blamed. Summing up the mood in the administration, one White House official said: "You do what you can Please see SOMALIA 6A purpose," Clinton said Wednesday after two days of policy discussions with his top advisers. "We are anxious to conclude our role there honorably, but we do not want to see a reversion to the absolute chaos and the terrible misery which existed before." The emerging strategy includes the sort of timetable and defineable, limited goals that the Congress has been demanding.

But it also comes with great risks. WASHINGTON President Clinton has decided to order about 2,000 more U.S. troops to Somalia to try to stabilize the country and has set a deadline of roughly six months for the withdrawal of all American forces, White House officials said Wednesday. By setting a specific withdrawal date, Clinton hoped to ease congressional pressure to end the Somalia operation immediately. The presi- dent also planned to spell out more clearly the precise goals he is setting for the American troops, who have been in Somalia for nine months on a mission that had already been extended and redefined.

"It is essential that we conclude our mission in Somalia but that we do it with firmness and steadiness of Michael Jordan's talent got him noticed. But his wink and a smile endeared him to fans, especially youngsters. THE THRILL IS GONE Yankees spring home may be Tampa The Hillsborough County Commission agrees to build the New York ballclub a $20-million training complex near Tampa Stadium. V. 1 i i rs ll AP A I- t.

'V '3l i i Yeltsin said he had saved Russia from a "Communist-fascist dictatorship." Yeltsin demands elections in regions The Russian leader wants local councils to face elections along with a new national Parliament. i. By TOM SCHERBERGER Times Staff Writer TAMPA The New York Yankees should be training in the Tampa Bay area again by the spring of 1996, Hillsborough County commissioners decided Wednesday. After four years of off-and-on talks and 3'2 hours of public debate the County Commission voted 5-2 to build the Yankees a $20-million spring training complex across from Tampa Stadium. "I'm very happy and excited for the Yankees and Tampa Bay," said George Steinbrenner, the team's principal owner.

Although the commission said Wednesday's vote is a commitment to the team, it is far from a done deal. Land must be purchased from two state agencies and financing must be arranged. Figuring out all that now falls to Hillsborough County Administrator Fred Karl. He said he hopes to report back to the commission early next month. It was Karl's recommendation to proceed with the project that led to Wednesday's action, and he promised commissioners that taxes will not rise to make it happen.

The project prompted broad support that surprised even Steinbrenner, and Wednesday's meeting drew a capacity crowd to the 200-seat commission chamber. So many people showed up that some were forced to move to another auditorium and watch the proceedings on television Please see YANKEES 3A By TOM ZUCCO Times Staff Writer We grown-ups look at Michael Jordan and see this dazzling multimillionaire scoring machine who retired a couple of years too soon. He's gone, but so is Nolan Ryan. And George Brett. Jordan will come back.

Or somebody else will come along. But when you're 8 or 9 or 10 years old, and you've got Michael Jordan posters on your bedroom walls and you're just breaking in your Air Jordans, you don't think like that. To kids, there are precious few real heroes. Even in sports. And certainly nobody like Mike.

"You know what I like about him?" said 10-year-old Derrick Jones, who was hanging out at the Wildwood Recreation Center in St. Petersburg Wednesday afternoon. "He was always smiling. It didn't matter what was going on. Michael was smiling.

"I hope I'm like him someday." There is a powerful and special bond between kids and Michael Jordan. It crosses all racial and economic boundaries, and it's intimate, even though most of the kids never met the man. Maybe only Babe Ruth had that same kind of following. To kids, Michael Jordan is Superman, Batman, Peter Pan and the Lone Ranger all rolled into one fantastic real-live person. Ask some kids.

They may not know who Al Gore is. But they know who wears No. 23 for the Chicago Bulls. And if Jordan isn't their all-time favorite athlete, he's second. "I want to be like him someday." Why do so many kids want to be like Mike? What's the fascination? Part of the answer has to do with Jordan's talent and his exposure.

No basketball player ever had the skill and artistry that Jordan had. He did things no one thought possible. And from Wheaties boxes to Nike posters to the covers of Sports Illustrated, his image was everywhere. But beyond that, it was the expression on Mike's face that drew kids to him. He never appeared threatening or smug.

Instead, he looked genuinely friendly and approachable. When his tongue wasn't hanging out, he wore a wink and a grin, a demeanor that said, "Sure, kid. I'll sign that." That's not the norm today. Charles Barkley has said repeatedly that he doesn't want to be a role model. To make sure we understand, he chases officials, throws elbows, and even once spit on a young fan.

Bo Jackson is courageously trying to play on an artificial hip, but his star is fading. And Joe Montana has always had a certain aloofness about him. Even Shaquille O'Neal, one of Air Jordan's heirs apparent, has a rugged appeal. Shaq is 7 feet tall, weighs 300 pounds and shatters backboards on a regular basis. He is a giant.

And not all kids can relate to giants. Although he's 6 feet 6, Michael Jordan looked more average-sized. Please see COLUMN ONE 4A vv JA in in i im itnriniri ftii By WILBUR G. LANDREY Times Chief Correspondent MOSCOW President Boris Yeltsin took another step toward dismantling the old Soviet system Wednesday by demanding that the legislatures of Russia's regions dissolve themselves and face new elections along with a new national Parliament in December. In his first public appearance since the dramatic suppression of the last holdouts of the national Parliament on Monday, Yeltsin Reuters After leading the Chicago Bulls to three consecutive NBA championships, Michael Jordan realized his zest for basketball had diminished.

And so, at age 30, the man considered the world's greatest basketball player announced Wednesday that he was retiring from the game, saying: "I just feel I don't have anything else to prove." Complete coverage, Section and 6E Nearly 2,700 people are caught after curfew. 2A Man at center of Fla. medical scam arrested Bipartisan health plan introduced in Congress Associated Press This plan is similar to President Clinton's but doesn't require businesses to provide health insurance. claimed to have saved Russia from civil war and a bloody "Communist-fascist dictatorship." He did not try to dissolve the councils, or parliaments, by decree as he did the Soviet-era legislature. He even offered members the carrot of compensation.

But he charged them with cheering the national Parliament on and thus also being responsible for the events of Sunday and Monday when its leaders tried to take over key installations by force and were in turn put down by the army. "The councils should make a noble and courageous decision and disband themselves," Yeltsin said, adding that the new bodies to replace them would be open to "all leaders, politicians, parties and Please see YELTSIN 2A including about 60,000 in the Tampa Bay area. Recarey, who had links to Republican presidents and Democratic politicians, was arrested in Madrid, the FBI said. The Justice Department will work for his extradition to Miami, said Andrew J. Duffin, head of the FBI office here.

MIAMI A fugitive at the center of a billion-dollar health care scandal was arrested in Spain on Wednesday, six years after fleeing the United States. Miguel Recarey who ran International Medical Centers, fled while under indictment Cox News Service Recarey ran International Medical Centers. health spending. It is the fifth major health reform proposal being considered, but the first to garner significant bipartisan support, with 27 Democratic and 19 Republican co-sponsors. The Cooper-Grandy bill is based on the theory of managed competition, in which conglomerates of health care providers and insurers compete for the business of large pools of individuals and small-business employees.

The theory is that competition managed so that each company offers the same set of benefits will reduce prices so that small businesses will be able to insure their employees. "We feel that managed competition will work better back home and may be the only way Please see HEALTH 4A 8D Movies INDEX WASHINGTON Conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans joined Wednesday in introducing the first major bipartisan health reform bill in recent years. The bill by Rep. Jim Cooper, and Rep. Fred Gran-dy, R-Iowa, is similar to the plan outlined by President Clinton two weeks ago, but without two of the most contentious provisions.

It does not require businesses to provide health insurance and it does not set a cap on Parimutuels 12C At one point in 1988, Recarey was living near Caracas, Venezuela, and FBI agents complained publicly that the U.S. government was dragging its feet on extradition. Starting in 1981, Recarey relied heavily on well-connected lobbyists and friends to build a small Miami clinic into the nation's largest Medicare-certi- Please see FUGITIVE 3A on fraud and wiretapping charges. IMC, Florida's largest health maintenance organization, collected nearly $l-billion from taxpayers before collapsing in 1987. Regulators said $200-million to $300-million was never accounted for.

When the federal government ended its contract with IMC, in 1987, the plan had 136,000 members in Florida, Sports 1-13C 90 Television Correction Boris Yeltsin was elected president of Russia in 1991. An article and caption in Wednesday's Times gave an incorrect year. 2B Weather AnnAbby 2D Business 1-6E Classified 14-22C Comics 10D Editorials 16A Entertainment 10B Letters 17A 7 sections Vol. 110-No. 75 1993, Times Publishing Co..