The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 47

Sports Section Business11D Score Phone: (704) 379-6535 Zhe Thdriotte Observer Thursday May 25 1989 or 5 Years Doctor Supplied Johnson's Steroids 0 '45: 0 r3t 4 5 Associated Press TORONTO Ben Johnson's doctor testified Wednesday he provided anabolic steroids to the Canadian sprinter for five years leading up to the Seoul Olympics and said Johnson was well aware of what he was taking Dr Jamie Astaphan said he injected Johnson 50 or 60 times from spring 1984 to the summer of 1988 at his home and office and at Johnson's home He also said Johnson had his own supply of steroids for when Astaphan Astaphan also said he decided providing steroids was justified because top track athletes had an axiom that "If you don't take it you won't make it" He said he reasoned the athletes would obtain the banned substances from other sources if they didn't get them from a doctor who could give the proper treatment and supervision "They came to me for advice and supervision and I thought it was my responsibility to do this" Astaphan said was at home on the Caribbean island of St Kitts or otherwise not available The doctor said he regularly discussed with Johnson what was being provided and their potential side effects "All the time" Astaphan said "He was very inquisitive" Asked if Johnson understood the doctor replied: "Absolutely" Johnson's attorney Ed Futerman had indicated in cross-examination of Francis and other witnesses that the athlete had limited comprehension His testimony came on the first of what is expected to be several days before the Canadian inquiry into drugs and sports created when Johnson was stripped of his 100-meter Olympic gold medal for a positive steroid test in Seoul Johnson's only public statement since the Olympics was that he never knowingly used illegal drugs to enhance his performance His coach Charlie Francis testified earlier this year that Johnson first used steroids in 1981 and continued to within weeks of the Olympics at Seoul Astaphan said the athlete first came to see him in late 1983 or early 1984 with Francis "Ben was brought to me by Charlie Francis because of a knee injury" Astaphan said He said Francis brought up the subject of steroid use and Johnson explained that he had been using them on and off since 1981 "Charlie initiated the conversation and Ben provided the rest of the information" Astaphan said Johnson 4 4'1 Tom Elk Sorensen A ic i ick Itn Trie2er lit A Another Day At The (Name Brand) Races Earns Measure Of Respect Along Fast Lap To Pole The Top 5 The top five qualifiers for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway: NO DRIVER CAR SPEED 1 Alan Kulwicki Ford 173021 2 Mark Martin Ford 172651 3 Ken Schrader Chevy 172029 4 Darrell Waltrip CNA 171537 5 Rick Wilson Olds 171211 I ''1' i s'' kt:) 4: 1 sr'CS f''' LP 10 i 1 40t 4 s' s' 14--44'1' i ::1:4::::1:: :1 7''''''S '4: '1''''' 1 1 ssi 1 A -71- 1:: 1 :1: 0 i 01 ilk' 1 l' Lo A T440 4: 1 v1 0 ii -v --tit P''' Ivz---- 1 '''q --z: 1ZN 1144 or 41q s0471tt '3: 2 (1 1 By TOM HIGGINS Staff Writer Alan Kulwicki feels he has something in common with comedian Rodney Dangerfield He "don't get no respect sometimes" Wednesday wasn't one of those times at Charlotte Motor Speedway during qualifying as the first 20 starting spots were determined for the Coca-Cola 600 stock car race Sunday Kulwicki earned a great measure of respect and a whole lot more as he drove his Ford to 173021 mph to win the pole for the 30th running of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series classic The feat at the I5-mile track was worth $38500 to Kulwicki 34 an ownerdriver And it gave him a shot at another $60800 Unocal's "Skins Game" bonus if he wins Sunday's 400-lap event from the pole Mark Martin put another Thunderbird on the front row for Sunday's 12:45 pm start going 172651 mph Chevrolet drivers Ken Schrader and Darrell Waltrip qualified third and fourth and Olds-driving Rick Wilson completed the top five It was a gallant rally for Wilson and his crew Their car blew an engine and caught fire in practice Tuesday the blaze burning out wiring and tubing But repairs were made in time to qualify Placing 6-10 were Rusty Wallace Michael Waltrip Harry Gant Ricky Rudd and Brett Bodine This order means Waltrip and Wallace the "antagonists of the year" after their conflict in The Winston Sunday when Wallace won after contact spun Waltrip out will be lining up bumper-tobumper All-time victory leader Richard Petty was I Ith in racing the clock his best time trial performance in more than a year Current Winston Cup point standings leader Dale Earnhardt was 14th fastest defending national champion Bill Elliott I 5th The 40-car field is to be completed today in trials starting at 2 pm The subject of respect arose when Kulwicki was asked why he hadn't been listed among the faster drivers in practice at midday by a few rival car owners and crew chiefs "They never do mention us" he said with a smile "We get overlooked a lot I don't care as long as we can continue to produce "In this sport I guess you have to prove yourself over a long period of time" If so Kulwicki should be due some attention He won his first Winston Cup race the Checker 500 at Phoenix last November With luck he could have won at least three times this year in nine starts but instead See KULWICKI Page 6D I got to the track early Wednesday The sun looked pretty above the Goodyear Racing Center The Winston Cup cars already were on the track as I drove past the Unocal flag the Wheel Horse Lawn and Garden Trailers flag the Coca-Cola flag the Goody's flag the Kodak flag the All-Pro Auto Parts flag the Miller High Life flag the Winston Cup Series flag and the Oldsmobile flag I made a right turn at the Oakwood home with the pressure treated Edgefield P-L-A-N-K deck into Charlotte Motor Speedway I thought about stopping at the FordNew Holland tent but made a U-turn at The New Generation of Oldsmobiles and drove past the giant inflatable Miller High Life bottle and 76 Official Fuel tower instead I waved to the driver of the Goody's Official Pain Reliever NASCAR van and put on my Winston Cup sunglasses to cut down the glare from the Charlotte Motor Speedway NC Baptist Cabarrus Baptist Association chapel across the street Under the giant Winston Cup sign I showed a guard my Coca-Cola 600 credential and drove into the infield and walked into the Winston Media Center I waved to a man in a Charlotte Motor Speedway shirt looked out the window at the big red FolgersHendrick Motorsports trailer and poured some Folgers into an unmarked Styrofoam cup I climbed to the top of the Winston Media Center and watched a CoorsMelling Ford go past the STP Mello Yello Miller High Life Hardee's Champion Goody's and Coca-Cola signs near Turn 3 Then I went downstairs noting the Ingersall-Rand WSOC-FM and Monroe Shocks and Struts bumper stickers stuck to the wood at eye level along the way I sat at a table with a man wearing a Bill Taylor Simpson Race Products shirt As I walked out the door a guy with black Texaco Havoline jeans walked in I walked past the Miller High Life Photo Compound which I could tell was the Miller High Life Photo Compound because it had one Miller High Life Photo Compound sign on the roof and eight Miller High Life banners on the fence I nodded at the man in the Busch The Official Beer of NASCAR van walked to the Winston Cup Series Food area and visited one of the Winston Cup Rest Rooms I walked past the three-story high inflatable Winston cigarette pack showed a guard my NASCAR Winston Series garage pass and went into the garage I dodged the GM Goodwrench Chevrolet the Crown Skoal Classic Oldsmobile and the LifebuoyAEL Rentals Chevrolet I saw driver Mike Waltrip aside his Country TimePost Pontiac and asked him if all the advertising decals on his driving suit and car bothered him He said no he was proud of the advertisements because the advertisers gave him a chance to do the thing he liked to do He said he would like more I took out my Texaco Havoline Racing pen and wrote what he said in my 1989 Buick Motor-sports notebook I said thanks and followed a man wearing a Stroh's Lite sports coat past the Goodyear Eagle Racing Tires Center to the Winston Media Center for lunch According to the mimeographed sheets taped to the doors of the men's and women's bathrooms the lunch was sponsored by Texaco and Winston The lunch was preceded by a Winston Million Dollar press conference featuring Darrell Waltrip who drives the TideExxonAC Spark Plug Chevrolet and Davey Allison who drives the TexacoHavoline Ford After lunch I pulled my The Winston and Coca-Cola 600 week schedule out of my Texaco Havoline Racing bag and saw that Goody's Pole Day would include Winston Cup practice Coca-Cola 600 qualifying and the Wiscassett 150 I took a final slug from my plastic Country Time Lemonade glass stopped at the Winston Cup Series Official Souvenirs booth whose audio-video was provided by Sony and ran into a man with a Budweiser key chain hanging out of his left pocket The man said racing used to be laughed at for being too commercial but now golf tennis professional and college football and almost every other sport were doing the same I sat down beneath a $265 framed watercolor of Dale Earnhardt wrote a story on my Toshiba T1100 and got up to leave The sun was setting behind the Fast Fare water tower as I drove away GARY O'BRIENStaff Alan Kulwicki perches on the pole after Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor winning Wednesday's qualifying for the Speedway The race is Sunday Area Teams Set For NCAA Baseball Openers doesn't sound like a man down on his luck "We're very excited about it" he said "We've played good teams all year We don't feel intimidated at all" Perhaps that's because Leggett's team pulled the upset of the tournament two years ago eliminating the Bulldogs 8-1 in the semifinal round of the Mideast regional The Catamounts seeded sixth played the Bulldogs tough again in last season's tournament falling 7-4 in 11 innings Statistics say this year's matchup By WAYNE WASHINGTON Staff Writer The names and the game remain the same for college baseball fans in Starkville Miss Today for the third consecutive year Western Carolina will face Mississippi State (50-12) in the first round of the NCAA's 48-team double-elimination tournament The Catamounts (23-29) Southern Conference champions despite having a losing record will be facing the No 3 team in the country at 9 pm But Catamounts coach Jack Leggett could be different Western Carolina's team batting average dropped 58 points as four 1988 Catamounts who combined for 68 home runs and more than half the team's RBIs signed professional contracts That and the top-seeded Bulldogs' strong 388 team ERA could give the Catamounts trouble Still Leggett remains confident "We know we can play with them if we play well" Leggett said "We're familiar with the situation and the people" Western Carolina isn't the only Car olinas team in a familiar situation Three others Clemson East Carolina and North Carolina enter the tournament with recent postseason experience The second-seeded Tigers (46-18) who won the ACC tournament are making their third straight trip and open against fifth-seed Stetson (37-21) at 3 pm today in Tallahassee Fla East Carolina will travel to Gainesville Ha to face second-seed Florida (43-20) in the NCAA's South region at See AREA Page 9D Hornets Fans In Long Line For Tickets Clemson Coach Tom Harper Is Found Dead ikfii 1''' i'- -te1: ::4: 1 7 -'1 "i 4 i -r (1 4 rt'i 1 4 "i'll i 14 rii44'WT ''''ht: fl ig 1 1 Vp itAiltt '4 )0 It A '1WO: lott 464-4k1SN A4 s' i 440tAitt t--iikRit4i 04' rr pittL 'k 4 :4: 1 1 ti 3: ft''''I' si' 9 tr '-'ii' :4 4 ts': '4' 'k 36)ts r' :::1 1 1 i 1 dalaimcie 4' By LEONARD LAVE Sports Editor If you're among the thousands wanting season tickets for the Charlotte Hornets' second run through the NBA there's some good news some bad First the bad: The Hornets have orders for 24327 tickets almost 1000 more than capacity at the 23388-seat Charlotte Coliseum and almost 4000 over the cutoff of 20388 on season tickets The good: While it's too early for anything more than an educated guess there's a chance many or all of the first-time season-ticket buyers will have their orders filled the Hornets say "There's just no way to tell for sure at this point" said Sam Russo Hornets vice president of business "With so many people and options involved the process just takes a while" Season tickets for 42 games 41 regular-season games and one preseason game will be sold in three ways First priority goes to renewals from current season-ticket holders second to orders for See LONG Page 7D From Staff Reports Tom Harper 52 a former Wake Forest head football coach and an assistant head coach at Clemson was found dead Wednesday in a motel room in Savannah Ga A spokesman at Clemson said the cause of death had not been determined and funeral arrangements will be made today "Obviously it is a sad moment for Clemson University our foot' ball program and the athletic de- 'i ---4 partment" said Tigers athletic di- ir V-4 i rector Bobby Robinson 41 4Nor "Tom Harper has been a gi0'i' i ber of the Clemson family since gif-'filf 17 1981 He has been instrumental in '4 the success of the football program and has always represented the tt 4 institution with dignity and class "His loss will be felt by thou- Harper sands of Clemson people Our thoughts and prayers are with the Harper family" Clemson sports information assistant Sam Blackman said Harper's body was discovered late Wednesday afternoon by domestic workers at the motel He had been in Savannah to speak to an 1PTAY boosters club meeting Harper was head coach at Wake Forest for one year 1972 with a record of 2-9 He is survived by his wife the former Coral Evans and five children i Pitino Mulls Offer New York Knicks coach Rick Pitino says Kentucky has offered him its head basketball coaching job and that he will announce his decision within a week Page 9D Knights Lose On Homer A two-run homer gives Chattanooga a 3-2 victory over the Charlotte Knights in an afternoon Southern League baseball game Page 2D INSIDE Baseball 20 Nation 8D Colleges 9D NBA 7D High Schools 10D NHL 9D Motorsports 4D-8D Update 8D DON sTunkEytstati A Losing Step South Point's Josh Nixon follows through on a serve Wednesday during a 6-3 6-2 loss he and Nappy Martin suffered in doubles at the NC high school 3A tennis tournament In Charlotte Story Page 10D.