Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 41

(Ehitago Sribtme August 6, 1981 Section 3 Brickhouse to leave Cub telecasts after season SportsBuefess By Ron Alridge Radio-TV critic JACK BRICKHOUSE, who has an- flounced Cubs' baseball since 1940, will that lost 37 of its first 52 games. In a more philosophical mood earlier Wednesday, Brickhouse told The Tribune's David Condon: "You always know something like this is going to come, and I've been formulating plans for about two years. I've done organized baseball, on radio and TV, in six different decades, starting with Peoria in the Three-I League. In Peoria, I broadcast the first professional game ever played by Phil Cavarretta. "Six decades is a long time; it's long enough." As WGN's Cooper put it, gently: "Everything reaches, its time." Hamilton taking over the No.

1 announcing chores. "I think it makes sense to slide Milo in," said Brickhouse, who was largely responsible for persuading WGN to hire Hamilton. Next year, Brickhouse will be gone from the booth completely, though he's expected to do free-lance work for WGN Radio, among others. "He is not retiring," Cooper stressed. "The one thing I've got going for me," Brickhouse added, "is I'm not gonna starve to death.

I've got a wife with a job, see." Brickhouse said a couple of Chicago TV stations had approached him about doing some work for them. He wouldn't elabo consent to a degree." But not to much of a degree, according to one well-placed source, who said Brickhouse wanted to continue and is stepping down only because the station insisted. Indeed, at the start of the season, Brickhouse stopped short of pledging to retire. "I'm gonna work this season, see how I feel, and we'll see from there," he said then. WEDNESDAY, ASKED if he wanted to continue for another season or two, Brickhouse said, "Not necessarily," adding: "I'd certainly be willing to talk about it." He said he hated to quit at the end of such a "cruddy" season, which has seen plagued by the strike and by a Cub team man," working as a commentator for both radio and TV.

Asked about rumors that Sox announcer Harry Caray, might be joining the Cub announcers, Cooper said there were no plans to hire him. Caray added that he has had no talks with WGN and is still under contract to the Sox. Cooper stressed that all announcers will be subject to "club approval." But with Tribune Company, WGN's parent corporation, buying the team, approval is all but assured. AS THE FIRST part of the changeover, Brickhouse and Hamilton will reverse their sportscasting roles shortly after the strike-interrupted season resumes, with rate. As for WGN, he had nothing but praise.

"This company has been so great to me," he said. Cooper returned the praise, saying, "Brick's a monument to Sportscasting." ORIGINALLY, WGN planned to begin phasing in the sportscasting changes at the July All-Star break, with Brickhouse and Hamilton switching roles. The strike, which delayed the All-Star game, also delayed that plan. Tuesday, Cooper met with Brickhouse and told him how the revised phase-out would work. "Jack would like to go on forever, I'm sure," Cooper said.

"I think you could call it (the phase-out) mutual of the 1981 season, WGN Television President Sheldon Cooper said Wednesday. Brickhouse, 65, will be replaced by Milo Hamilton, the team's No. 2 TV voice since 1980. Brickhouse's departure apparently was prompted in part by prodding from the management of WGN. Lou Boudreau, who has been covering the Cubs for WGN Radio, will fill Hamilton's job; although plans are subject to change, it's possible Boudreau will continue to be a "swing Big 10 eases penalties on llini athletic program x' A mmBiMmm "mmssssmu 8 si I 4 By Linda Kay Chicago Tribune Press Service MINNEAPOLIS After a 10-hour session at the University of Minnesota Wednesday, Big 10 faculty representatives substantially reduced the penalties they had leveled against the University of Illinois in May as a result of the Dave Wilson case.

For its part, the school admitted for the first time that its actions in the Wilson case were wrong. At 11:30 p.m., the conference and the university announced in a joint statement that Illinois would be placed on probation for one year, that the university would be denied participation in postseason events in football for one year, and that it would lose conference television revenue in football for one year. The sanctions will take effect Sept. 1. This represents a significant modification of the penalties as originally announced.

IN MAY, THE BIG 10 said that the university would be placed on probation for three years, denied participation in postseason events in all men's sports for two years, and excluded from conference TV revenue from all sports for two years. According to University of Illinois President Stanley Ikenberry, under the new sanctions the school would lose "roughly about" $500,000, as opposed to the $1.5 million the school would have lost under the original penalties. In the joint statement, the conference said it "believes that the self study initiated by the university has produced a comprehensive and thoughtful evaluation of athletic administration recent discussions have re-established the mutual trust and good will that is characteristic of interaction among Big 10 institutions." THE UNIVERSITY, in acknowledging its wrongdoing, admitted that it: "Regrets its public support for continued participation by a student-athlete who was ineligible according to conference rules;" "Recognizes that some of its recent actions in connection with the Wilson matter have given the conference reason to question its committment to these principles (of faculty control) in the conduct of its athletic program;" "Acknowledges that some of its recent actions in the Wilson matter conflicted with the principle of faculty control;" "Recognizes that its recent support of a legal challenge to conference application of its academic progress rule has raised serious doubts about its (Illinois') committment to the obligations of conference membership." FROM THE LENGTH of Wednesday's deliberations, it was obvious that the question of whether to reduce the sanctions had been hotly contested. Indiana's Jack Wentworth, chairman of the faculty representatives and the spokesman at a late-night press conference, would not say if the faculty, representatives were unanimous in approving the reduced sanctions. "The vote was the vote of the conference," Wentworth said.

"The nine of us (Illinois did not participate) were not in agreement on every point." Illinois Chancellor John Cribbet said posturing took up a lot of time. "There's a certain amount of speech making everyone feels compelled to do on these occasions," Cribbet said. He added that the wording of the joint statement also was a touchy undertaking. "Changing a phrase from 'conflicts' to 'appears to conflict' that's the sort of thing that takes hours to work out." NEITHER THE FACULTY representatives nor the university officials appeared elated with the final statement. "I think if we had this (entire situation) to replay, both the conference and the University of Illinois would have handled it differently," said Ikenberry.

Neither side would elaborate on what in the statement dissatisfied them. "We don't see mueh to be gained by replaying events of a year, ago," Ikenberry said. "The reduction, while. Continued on Page 2, col. 3 mms- i AP Lassrpholo The penalties The compromise The background The University of Illinois' athletic program will be on probation for one year, the football team will be banned from postseason competition for one year, and the school will lose its share of conference television revenue for one season.

Those sanctions, which take effect Sept. 1, are considerably milder than those originally imposed In May three year's probation, the barring of all men's teams from postseason play for two years, and the exclusion from TV for all sports for two years. In exchange for the Big 10's lessening of Its penalties against the University of Illinois, the school admitted to errors In its handling of the Dave Wilson affair and agreed to make some changes, especially in the area of faculty control. In the joint statement Issued with the conference, the university said It regretted its public support for Wilson, who, Illinois admitted, was Ineligible according to conference rules. The school had backed Wilson throughout the controversy, asking the Big 10 to waive eligibility rules on his behalf, for example.

Illinois also admitted that some of Its statements and actions gave the Big 10 reason to question its committment to faculty control over a report sent to the school last fall, the conference claimed there was a lack of effective faculty involvement In athletics at the school, which has since taken steps to remedy that complaint. Its senate committee on athletics and its athletic association board have been consolidated into one body, with more faculty representation and less alumni participation, for example. The office of faculty representative also has been strengthened. In April, 1980, University of Illinois quarterback Dave Wilson asked the Big 10 to waive two rules one that said he already used three years of eligibility and one that said he must have 78 credit hours to be eligible. The next month, the conference eligibilty committee gave Wilson permission to play In 1980, but refused to grant him an extra year of eligibility.

Two days later, however, Big 10 faculty representatives overruled the committee and said Wilson could not play until 1981. Wilson went to court, seeking an Injunction that would allow him to play in 1980. A circuit court judge first granted the injunction, but later dissolved It. Wilson appealed to the state supreme court, which ruled he could play in 1960. In the spring of 1981, Big 10 faculty reps informed the lllini of six charges against the university in regard to the school's handling of the Wilson case.

The reps later announced they had uncovered instances of lying and deception by the school, and put the lllini program on probation for three years. The school appealed, while Wilson went on to join the New Orleans Saints, who picked him in a special supplemental NFL draft. Split season makes owners twice as silly (fj Complete baseball report the Cubs announced that first baseman Bill Bucknerhas been added to the National League team for Sunday's All-Star Game in Cleveland. Britt Burns hopes his All-Star honor is a blessing for his dad. Bob Verdi 1 according to Commissioner Bowie.

Kuhn who, by the way, was not the reason for the strike baseball will get instead a contrived, synthetic, arbitrary, and unwieldy alternative emergency plan that could go a long way in deciding which is not the best team. What's worse, the lords tells us they will do so to cultivate fan interest after their self-decreed draught. Strange, but they didn't seem so concerned about the fan when they were collecting insurance while bargaining for the 26th best player, which the courts still say they're not entitled to in return for a departed free agent, anyway: For two i months, all the owners wanted to win was the strike. Now, 'they want to win us back, or at least our money. Unfortunately, they will do so only by letting what's left of the season run its proper course and not by polluting the soundest playoff system in professional sports with charades that will force baseball to resemble as summertime version of the National Basketball Association or National Hockey League, two losing propositions because they annually reward incompetence with postseason berths.

Baseball fans could snicker when the Toronto Maple Leafs "qualified" for the Continued on page 2, col. 1 WHEN CHARLES 0. FINLEY came upon ideas such as having players don multicolored uniforms and staging World Series games on weeknights instead of weekdays, his fellow baseball owners arose from their starched collars to mock him mercilessly. They said Finley was bucking tradition by advocating gimmicks for a sport that didn't need any. It is a matter of record, of course, that almost all teams now dress their mercenaries in flamboyant garb rather than the onetime prison outfits, and that the two teams successful enough still to be playing in mid-October display said wardrobes only after dark on days when most working stiffs work.

How the worms turn. Speaking of same, they gather Thursday in Chicago to discuss none other than their latest gimmick. The lords of baseball, who carefully arranged a seven-week strike though not carefully enough to avoid losing it tell us they will save the season they helped destroy by splitting it up like so many pieces of stew. On a scale of 1 to 10 for sheer brilliance, this brainstorm deserves a zero. MONTHLY AWARDS FOR BUSTING out all over are bestowed capably by Playboy magazine.

Baseball fans do not The White Sox are pushing for the adoption of an altered split season plan. care who won June or July or August. They cherish only the real thing, which is who wins the whole thing. The greatest assets of this sport are continuity and pace. Both have been damaged by a strike-for-spite that cost 714 games.

If ever a baseball season begged for a semblance of normalcy, it is this one. Baseball cannot handle another jolt to its time-tested ways particularly if such a tactic is motivated by greed. A split season followed by expanded playoffs would be all of that. 1 But judging from straw polls of owners, and the gospel National League owners are expected to give unanimous approval of the Cubs' 6ale to Tribune Company when they meet in Chicago Thursday. The Yankees completed the Rick Reuschel deal by sending right hander Mike Griffin to the Cubs.

Stories on page 3 7 Sox, three other teams near pay-TV package deal Sting wins in shootout The Sting beat the Diplomats In Washington 3-2. Story, provide dual audio capability at the subscriber's option. THE ACCORD with the four professional teams was negotiated under the direction of Mlyares, president of HATCO 60 (Hispanic-American Television The firm expects to be granted license by the Federal Communications Commission by the end of the year to broadcast subscription TV programming between the prime-time viewing hours of 7 p.m. to a.m. Daytime broadcasting rights are expected to be granted at the same time to Metrowest, Continued on Tage 2, col.

3 50,000 subscribers the first year of the accord, double that number the second year, and 400,000 by the fifth year. Channel 60 is the only Hispanic-owned and operated subscription TV channel In the nation and is headed by Marcelino Mlyares, founder and president of O.M.A.R., a Chicago-based national Spanish advertising agency. Mivares declined to comment Wednesday. A unique feature of the venture Is that play-by-play coverage of the sporting events will be offered In either English or Spanish. A device which will unscramble the ffV signal for reception on conventional seta, also will $20-a-month subscription fee, envisions a total of at least 400,000 customers by the end of the fifth year of the agreement.

INVOLVED IS the leasing or air rights over. Channel 60, a UHF station that plans to begin broadcasting early next year from $3 million worth of facilities atop the Sears Tower. Channel 60 promoters reportedly are reluctant to label their signal the most powerful In the Chicago area. However, technicians predict the station will reach portions of foua, states Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois as well as the metropolitan Chicago' iprea. i And that market Is expected to giierata By ob Wiedrich A GROUP OF Chicago Investors Is on the verge of locking up pay-television rights to virtually all games of four of the city's professional sports teams the White Sox, Black Hawks, Bulls, and the Sting.

The unprecedented agreement is expected 'to be signed this week covering all night home and out-of-town games of the four teams for more than IS years. The Bears and Cubs are not Included In the package. I V. The deal, has a potential for gross 1 monthly earnings of $3 million based on a paga 2. lA AAAAAAA.