The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 390

1 in SUNDAY JULY 3 1994 1411 THE HERALD NAMES NOTES steroid trial will open Tuesday recently have quit and retread wrestlers such as Jim Neidhart are being rehired and put into prominent positions because WWF talent is lacking Jim Rota was rehired by the WWF to handle announcing chores during the trial The federal trial of World Wrestling Federation owner Vince McMahon begins Tuesday in New York McMahon 48 is charged with two counts of distributing anabolic steroids to WWF wrestlers and one count of conspiring to distribute the muscle-enhancing drug The actions allegedly took place between 1985 and 1991 If convicted on all three counts McMahon faces up to 1 1 years in prison and $15 million in fines McMahon pleaded innocent in November The trial is expected to last about five weeks Several wrestlers are scheduled to testify including Hulk Hogan The Hulkster who now works for rival World Championship Wrestling reportedly is the wrestler identified as receiving steroids from McMahon by the grand jiiry The Hulk has admitted to steroid ue throughout the 1980s but has yet to Maryland Gov William Schaefer on the live airing of King of the Ring were deleted when the show was replayed Tuesday Schaefer said he was a Hogan which ruined the to smear The Hulkster WCW Saturday Night (6:05 TBS) will be televised live next weekend and features a Hogan appearance WCW also will be offering a 900 number for fans to vote for a that will air on the show Afore wrestling news by Alex Marve'z is available on The Herald's Pro Wresr thng Line at 900-446-BASH (2274) The cost of the call is 95 cents a minute Average length of the call is three minutes for an average cost of $285 Touchtone phones only You must be at least 18 years old to call provide details Or George Zahorian who served as a ringside physician at numerous WWF matches during the 1980s already is serving a prison term after being convicted of illegally distributing steroids Several ex-WWF wrestlers most notably Roddy Piper admitted to receiving steroids from Zahorian during his 1991 trial Even if McMahon is acquitted the WWF is in sorry shape The King of the Ring pay-per-view was the least-purchased major WWF show in history Several key front-office employees was arrested Funk 50 says he has thwarted about a dozen murder attempts during his career and wrestling lore supports his stories During a match in Texas in the 1970s The Funkster was struck in the neck by a knife thrown into the ring Terrible Terry says his closest brush came in the early 1980s at a match in Harlan Ky Before the show Funk did a television interview accusing mine workers in Harlan of in the coal mines all day drinking and playing cards and then collecting welfare Funk now recalls fans were so mad that arena security was collecting guns from them at the door and putting them in a box On my way out of town I was chased by guys in a pickup Pro-Hogan comments made by Funk threatened A fan was arrested at a WCW television taping Monday in Columbus Ga for illegally carrying a concealed 9mm pistol Charges were later dropped by Columbus police Lieutenant Butch Beach said Terry Funk was wrestling when the fan HiliuyilfHramr Please PGA withdraw from managing course Failed promises for Golf Club of Miami lIstST 7 ihUEK1SHT "V-- DREW LITTON Rocky Mountain News Johnny LaPonzina is president of Professional Course Management and past president of the South Florida PGA By JOHNNY LaPONZINA An open letter to PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem: I respectfully request that the PGA Tour withdraw as the management company of the Golf Club of Miami immediately and unconditionally After five years of unfulfilled goals and misrepresentations the image and credibility of the PGA Tour as it relates to the Golf Club of Miami project has been greatly tarnished The vision for the Golf Club of Miami project must be put into its proper perspective: a complete economic failure a catastrophic $24 million burden to the taxpayers of Dade County and a continuous public relations nightmare to the highly regarded image and credibility of the PGA Tour The support for the PGA contract with Dade County was initially extremely controversial and was at best in the receipt of divided support in our community when the PGA Tour was awarded the bid Today virtually all support for the PGA Tour to continue to operate the Golf Club of Miami has vanished The unfulfilled goals include' but are not limited to: 1 A major hotel (400-500 rooms) 2 Increased tourism for Dade County 3 Creation of jobs at the proposed hotel and conference center 4 Enhanced property values for homeowners 5 The possibility of a PGA Tour Sanctioned Tournament with TV coverage 6 PGA Golf Learning Center and Junior Golf Academy 7 Minority involvement and participation in the project 8 Projections and Proformas in the fifth year showing sizable profits and cash flow to Dade County as well as the Tour May I further suggest that the PGA Tour gracefully and politely withdraw from the agreement and give Dade County the opportunity to work out of their finan-: cial burden by eliminating the' management fees paid to the" Tour $37000 annually) Mr Commissioner I have two other disturbing issues that I would like to address: The first is that the PGA Tour is demanding in a proposed settlement agree- ment with Dade County an additional $2 million over the! next 10 years to walk away from! their management agreement addition to the hundreds of thou-sands of dollars in excessivfe management fees that the tour has been paid it would be inconceivable and totally irresponsible to even consider payment to the PGA Tour The second issue is that the PGA Tour plans to build and operate an 18-hole PGA Tour Golf facility in Coral Springs and -that the Tour plans to bring a-major resort and conference cen- ter to the site as well as make the-site the permanent home of the Honda Classic golf tournament it ironic that 20 miles' directly north of the Golf Club of-Miami that the PGA Tour is involved in a project that is' exactly what Dade County cials and its residents envisioned when they entered into the agree-' ment with the PGA Tour at Golf Club of Miami? Our concerns and fears of yesterday have become reality The PGA Tour has done many wonderful things for charities and communities across the United States since its It is time to take one step fur- ther in that direction and not the forces of greed continue in' excessive management fees the Golf Club of Miami cannot sup port and Dade County and its residents cannot afford to pay We respectfully thank you fof your interest and attention to this matter We are looking forward to your response throughout the world and represented by 24 countries and witnessed via TV by one boring billion of international audience Shame on you Boring Pope HUGO del GESSO Miami World Cup sponsorship obtrusive and annoying Editor: I was glad to see Barry Jackson criticize the on-screen sponsors logos that ESPN keeps on the screen throughout its coverage of World Cup games They are indeed obtrusive and annoying I would like to draw Mr attention to the inane phrase itself an ad pitch that announcers utter every 10 minutes or so when they change the logo: segment of the game is brought to you commercial-free by How can a commercial claim that it is commercial-free? PATRICK SULLIVAN Miami Publish salaries to gain soccer attention Editor: If you want the good old USA to fall in love with soccer do it the way it was done (only temporarily) 1 5 or 20 years ago No one cared just like today about soccer Then for some reason we all heard about some little Brazilian named Pele And still no one cared until it was disclosed how much money he made more than a million dollars per year Why not publish how much money these players make? It will make the Americans sit up again and take notice FRED DIAMOND Miami Gay Games deserve coverage in The Herald Editor: I am writing to express my outrage in what I think is a complete media blackout by The Herald An international sporting event as large as the Olympics comprising more than 11000 participants from around the world held its opening ceremonies in New York There was not a word printed in The Herald The next day under there was a short blurb about Greg Louganis performing four dives however on the front page of the sports section was an article about Pete oversize shorts This is absurd! Why does the Olympics get so much media attention and the Gay Games get literally none? Is it because the athletes participating in the Gay Games (some part medalists in the Olympics) are gay and therefore not worthy of any recognition of their accomplishments? For a newspaper that preaches equality for everyone this is certainly in indication that The Herald only means for everyone except DENNIS SCHELL Miami Beach Soccer is not boring but column was Not-so-dear Boring Edwin Pope: is sign of old And you again are showing it in your June 13 industrial-strength attack on soccer Since you are then old and of course myopic you indulge in your article comparing things of sports you know with soccer that you never understood because of gross ignorance Rather you dared to compare the Series of baseball (perhaps a team from the Bronx and the other from Queens) with boring soccer played and understood DRAWING ATTENTION: Phil Niekro manages Silver Bullets Women ys women is better By JOANNE HOUSMAN As the president of the largest baseball league in the country the South Florida Diamond League I feel it is my duty to publicly express my views on vhat is happening with baseball Baseball is America's greatest game and should be available to qll Several leagues exist throughout the country on an amateur level: amateur simply ipeaning that the players do not draw salaries Many of these women play with professional skills and attitudes 5 It is a great injustice for women to devote themselves to collegiate softball only to find no professional future when they graduate Their education is sacrificed for the time and energy they devote to their sport The seven teams of the South Florida Diamond Lpague are demonstrating why professional women's baseball can and should become a reality The level of play in our league is impressive with women who Have not played organized baseball before If young women and girls were taught baseball over the years and continued to develop in college the quality of baseball would be special Coors has done one positive thing by creating the Silver Bullets It has brought baseball into the public eye For this I am grateful However these women have never played baseball before and are competing against men who have been playing all their lives The bottom line is this: there is no professional sport in which women compete against men The physical differences are obvious It is wrong All of the money time and effort Coors put into this one team should have been used to create a league c-Strength alone does not define talent and good competition Women players are as graceful as men and can apply themselves in the same way to create a beautiful game If intentions truly to develop baseball and not to exploit women for its own publicity and profit it would not have created the spectacle of women playing against men It would have developed a pro league j-The individuals involved particularly some former major-league players have shown a lack Of insight toward what good competition is all about gThe South Florida Diamond League is an expanding non-for-profit baseball league hich consists of seven teams and 100 players Tryouts for new players will be in August For information call (305) 963-8069 My search for the right people with the right intentions Sports Forum invites letters which should be as brief as possible and must include the writer's name address and telephone number Some letters are edited for length and clarity Address letters to Sports Forum The Miami Herald 1 Herald Plaza Miami Fla 33132-1693 I1BY0UG0I Hear the ocean seashell optional If you have your own boat you can launch from the boat ramp at mile marker 34 on West Summerland Key: Big Pine Fishing Lodge: Keys Sea Center on Big Pine Key Dolphin Marina on Little Torch Key If you have a boat you can charter or rent at many Keys charter services and dive shops Bud Boat Rentals (305) 745-4314 Cudtoe Gardens Dive Shop (305) 745-3357 Dolphin Marina's MS Looe (800) 553-0306 Fun Yet Charters (305) 872-3407 Fantasy Charters (800) 225-3230 Four Star Rentals (305) 872-2229 FlondaysSundance Charters (305) 872-3943 Genuine Draft Charters (305) 872-9722 Inner space Dive Shop (800) 538-2896 Looe Key Dtve Shop (800) 942-5397 Newfound Boat Rentals Charters (305) 872-1204 Outback Safari (305) 872-3355 Outcast Charters (800) 833-9857 Ray's Boat Charters (305) 745-2412 Sun n' Fun Charters (800) 538-01 VE Seahorse SCUBA (305) 745-2315 SNAFU Charters (800) 362-0424 Strike Zone Charters (800) 654-9560 Underseas Dive Shop (800) 446-5663 Water Spyder (305) 872-3907 For more information call 1-800-872-3722 from 9 am to 5 pm i Underwater concert teaches reef ecology from the Florida Marine Patrol and US Coast Guard Auxiliary will patrol the reef underwater to make sure divers standing or anchoring on coral or spearing fish More than 35 mooring buoys will be available for the 125 boats expected with boats rafting up two or three to a buoy When the buoys are occupied boats will be directed to anchor in sand seaward of the reef Looe Key Sanctuary manager George Schmahl says he has mixed emotions about drawing a large crowd of people to the reef But been pleasantly surprised at behavior the past By SUSAN COCKING Herald Outdoors Writer Like to dive? Like to listen to music? You can combine both pastimes at the 10th annual Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival next Saturday Water Music Jimmy A Pirate Looks at 40 and other nautical tunes will pour out of six high-powered underwater speakers to entertain divers and fish along the one-third-mile-long Looe Key reef five miles east of Big Pine Key a peaceful atmosphere not a big says organizer Bill Becker news director at Big Pine Key radio station US 1 (1047) which will broadcast the concert from 10 am to 2 pm The music will be interspersed with messages from managers of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary on the importance of preserving the fragile coral reef Sanctuary officers with help nine years been pretty 'Schmahl says promoters do a good job nice relaxing music not hardcore rock The concert has become a very effective way to educate divers about not touching and impacting corals and taking things from the Becker promises purer sound quality this year than at previous festivals He says Lubell Laboratory of Columbus Ohio will provide improved speakers that produce a fuller richer bass tone than the tinny strains of past years Becker has chosen popular classical and new age music that he says will play well underwater He might throw in the Jaws theme just to stir up the waters When the music stops and the dive boats return to port a seafood festival from 2 to 7 pm at the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce Mile Marker 31 fif Costa del Sol 18 Hole Championship Course Par 72 6400 yards definite challenge for the true 4th of July Special "1 ls400 off greens fee with this coupon! CALLFOR tee" TTMES" QO 3 (NW 41 st 102 Ave £3 3 3 LJ.