The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 13

to THE GAZETTE, MONTREAL, WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 22. 1995 8 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 mm lawyer makes his pitch to Expo Knight was discovered after working as movie extra i amawa can. warra yam mwm obmpct IAN MacDONALD THE GAZETTE Ml BRAND NAME LENSES 28210mm 13.5-5.6 Autofocus LANTANA, Fla. Minnesota lawyer Darren Knight knows his tryout with the Expos has come because of unusual circumstances.

But to avoid possible legal action, we must be careful about classifying him as a replacement player. "It's certainly because of a strange series of events that I'm here," admits the 29-year-old righthander, a Chicago Cubs Class-A farmhand in 1988-89. 70-300mm F4.2-5.8 70-21 Omm 12.8-4 24mm 12.8 IN-ST0RE SPECIAL $14095 Our reg. price S299 95 1 Our reg. price S399.95 SPECIAL $1QQ95 SPECIAL SPECIAL 'Due to the fact that the above prices are below dealer net, we are unable to mention the brand, 1 PIERRE OBENORAUF, GAE17E Darren Knight lays down a bunt at Expos workout yesterday.

Shepherd FM990; Tl i VIDEO LIGHT for sharper, more colorful videos Recharqeable Measures in 12 stop increments Increased ISO range to 6400 Multiple flash capability Sleek, compact and portable Brilliant quartz halogen illumination Ff ijfjfjff Suggested list $21 9.95 ij Simon's tmnJt Simon (195 Special SI 'Limited Quantities and mounts. Special BONUS AC ADAPTER INCLUDED Prices valid until March 795 or while quantities last. The above were acquired from a bankruptcy purchase and are all brand new with full warranty. Absolutely no sales to dealers. But Knight does not look at himself as a strikebreaker.

Instead, he suggests he is fulfilling the dream of those who volunteer as movie extras in the hope of being discovered. "The movie Little Big League was being filmed in the Metrodome (in Minneapolis) and there was an ad in the paper for ex-professionals minor-leaguers, whatever to be extras," Knight recalled. "I was nearby and it sounded like fun. Eventually, I pitched in the last scene of the movie. Dick Sutch (the Twins pitching coach) asked me about my background, baseball-wise.

"I don't know exactly how everything happened but from that, I got a call to play in a semi-pro league last year. Then this spring a guy named Bill Geivett (the Expos director of player development) called me. "And here I am. The whole thing came about because of that movie, which is kind of weird. Last year -and now this." Knight has not signed a replacement-player contract; the Expos have not asked any players to sign such forms yet.

But he has signed a two-way, Double-ATriple-A pact. Knight tried pro ball after gradu- succeed. "My dad encouraged me to pursue every opportunity. You do the best you can and let the chips fall where they will. This is fun.

If you get paid to play a game, why not do it?" There isn't much pay here. In fact, since he lives at the team hotel, there is none. Meals are served to those players at the hotel. Asked whether pitching coach Joe Kerrigan had spoken to him about his pitching, his delivery, his chances anything Knight replied, "I don't know who that gentleman is. Several coaches have spoken to us and they are all encouraging." While he claims to have been among the NorthCentral independent league leaders in strikeouts and innings pitched, Knight sounded like a veteran major-leaguer in rationalizing his 3-3 record can be deceiving." "What we know is that he has a good arm," said the Expos' Geivett.

"We know the Twins were interested in having him." ating from the University of Minnesota. When the Cubs released him he went to law school. "By working through the summer I graduated in 2'A years," Knight said. "My girlfriend, Mary (Hayano), and I opened the firm two years ago." Though they struggled at first, the partners soon gained accounts. "The owner of the building we moved into is the main tenant," Knight said.

"He has extensive property ownings and we started doing a lot of business for him. His brother owns several small businesses. Between those two men we picked up a lot of work." The firm is busy enough that Knight phones several times a day to the Minneapolis suburb of Wayza-ta, where his office is located. Knight calls himself a fastball, slider and changeup pitcher, "and I throw a screwball too." Asked if failing here would be a major setback, Knight said, "You're always disappointed if you don't m5 JOB rxmtKmx Gall him dead Wood Veteran needs surgery on shoulder LANTANA OF Ted Wood wasn't planning on being a replacement player. It's a moot point, now.

Wood, whose 102 major-league at-bats were the second-most of any player in camp, was told he will need surgery to repair a tear in his right shoulder and will be out for at least six weeks. Wood hit .279 at Triple-A Ottawa last year with 13 home runs and 59 runs batted in. He had a strong winter ball season in Mexico and was looking forward to becoming a six-year minor-league free agent. "I played through this in Mexico and I know how to handle it. but if I get this corrected early enough I'll still have time to come back and put together a good year," the 28-year-old Wood said.

Wood was one of a group of 20 players who had magnetic-resonance-imaging exams Monday. Quebecer Marc Griffin was cleared to work out after the elbow he had surgery on in 1992 was reexamined. SLOW DOWN, DENIS Denis Boucher has had the brakes put on his workload. The Lachine left-hander has been in Florida for three weeks getting ready for the Expos camp, but he apparently overdid things. "He has inflammation, tenderness in his shoulder," trainer Ron "Mct'lain said.

"It might be from a previous problem, but more than likely he just threw too hard too early down here. He hasn't damaged anything but we'll put him on half the work schedule of the other pitchers." WANTS FEIIR PLAY Griffin questions the edict of Players Asso-ciation president Donald Fehr, who said that any minor-leaguer who takes part in exhibition games will be considered a strikebreaker. "1 wonder if Mr. Fehr will guarantee me a minor-league job once everything is settled if I refuse to play in exhibitions." Griffin said. THINGS MOM NEVER TOLD YOU Expos players and coaches attended a security seminar in the auditorium at Santaluces High School before yesterday morn- SPRING TRAINING NOTEBOOK Jeff Blair and Ian Mac Dona Id ing's workout, in which West Palm Beach Police detectives Ron Ghian-da and Bill Eraser welcomed them to "the city with the highest crime rate in the U.S." The detectives warned the players about drugs, sex and rock'n'roll or at least, drugs, prostitutes and night clubs.

Among suggested places to avoid were a pair of sports bars. DRAWING THE LINE Expos president Claude Brochu and vice-president of baseball operations Bill Stoneman paid a visit to manager Felipe Alou on the field yesterday. But both sides said Alou's public ruminations about possibly not managing replacement players did not come up. "We talked baseball, believe it or not," Stoneman said. Brochu, meanwhile, continued to express pessimism about any agreement coming out of the new round of negotiations between owners and the players association.

"The thing to keep in mind is that the damage was done to us (the owners) in the fall, with the cancellation of the season and the World Series Nothing in the next five months can hurt us as much as what happened in the fall. Nothing." OUT WITH THE OLD OF Van Snider, a former major-league prospect with the Reds, was one of four players cut after failing medical examinations. "The guy couldn't lift his shoulder," an Expos official said. BIN WITH THE NEW IB Craig Cooper, last with the Cleveland Indians in 1992, was signed to a inor-league cont ract FARM TEAM RHP Howard Farmer, a former Expos farmhand who was out of baseball last year and began working out yesterday, says that he has no plans to be a replacement player. "I just want to get back in baseball, preferably at Ottawa," he said.

Quebec sweeps skiing 1-2-3 finish in Canada Games Super CANADIAN PRESS Iip nil IFiliiif llrt GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alta. -Anne-Marie St. Arnaud battled a windy upper section of the women's super ski course day, carving her way to gold and Jeading a Quebec sweep of the "medals in the opening alpine event the Canada Winter Games. St. Arnaud, 1 8, of Quebec City, blazed down the course at Jasper's iMarmot Basin ski area in one fminute 7.53 seconds, starting out of the 18th position of 43 entrants.

skiers later, teammate Anne-JMari Lefrancois tried desperately no catch St; Arnaud, but came up 'just short with a time of 1:07.67 to Jwin the silver. Anne-Isabelle Pel-flcticr won bronze in a time of .1:07.72. "I 4 I On Clearance Sale Priced Merchandise Only We will give you a discount equivalent to the GST. Excludes Cosmetics, Fragrances, Liz Claiborne merchandise, boys' Tommy Hilfiger merchandise, Perego strollers, sale priced Electronics, Pharmacy items and Restaurants. turned out good." A beaming St.

Arnaud was particularly happy with her result be-, cause selections for Canada's national junior team, heading to the world championships, will be based on skiers' performances at the Games. "We've never come here with the good provincial team, but we brought the best this year," she said. "These are important races for us." While Quebec shone on the hill, Saskatchewan speed skaters were burning up the track in Grande Prairie, 400 kilometres northeast of Jasper. Jason Parker, 19, of Yorkton, set a record in the men's 500 metres as well as the 3.000 metres to clinch gold, while Leah Nattrass of Regina set a new mark in the women's 500 metres. Jean-Philippe Goyctte of Sillery, and Bryan Moody of Pointe Claire also won gold in men's doubles in badminton.

i uuu a guuu iuii, i taivcu me Jupper part of the course really well," said St. Arnaud, a four-event skier. "'In the bottom part of the course I did the best that I could be cause I'm not the best glider, but it YOUR BETTER PRICE ADVANTAGE.