The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • 23

Business a IBM looks to unveil more powerful PS2s I Page 6 Section Saturday Apri(20 1991 The News and Observer Raleigh NC Mudcats debut is wet but it'sl successful Mickey McCarthy A )'! By BILL WOODWARD Staff writer 13ryarit's dream becomes reality eighth gave up three singles to load the bases with one out In stepped Ryan Klesko who is rated as the Atlanta Braves' top minor-league prospect Klesko a hard-swinging first baseman had doubled in his previous at-bat But Adams got him on a called third strike and then induced an inning-ending ground ball by Keith Mitchell "Wakefield did a great job" Mudcats manager Marc Bombard said "But the key was the eighth inning with one out "Adams made the big pitch on Klesko" The Greenville Braves had taken three of four games from the Mud ior) i 0 '''') I 774 4 N1-1" ii Wi -N iNs i7 I 1 --e'r ifr I 7-' ---1 home until their stadium in Zebu Ion is completed A crowd reported at 4357 was on hand to see the area's new Class AA team make its home debut The Mudcats 5-3 won their fourth straight game using the same formula that had been successful on the road strong starting pitching and timely hitting Tim Wakefield pitched six scoreless innings leaving after giving up four hits and only run in seven innings Wakefield throwing the knuckle-ball on about 80 percent of his pitches walked one and struck out one to even his record at 1-1 The game was not without late-inning drama Steve Adams who came on in the WILSON Put a in the books On a raw rainy night at Fleming Stadium the Carolina Mudcats played their first game on North Carolina soil Friday topping the Greenville Braves 5-1 The game was delayed at the start for 35 minutes because of rain It was stopped with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning when the steady light rain that had been falling throughout the game became a steady heavy rain After a delay of 50 minutes the game was officially called a victory for the Mudcats in their debut in what will be a temporary 4 I Staff photo by Jim Bounds Tim Wakefield right hurls one for the Mudcats See MUDCATS page 2C 1 tfitil Foreman goes the distance The Associated Press v2' 7 i l'4 qlS 4' ligrifit' i 1 "----14 4 f'' "'-'714'110 1 I "-J' --i- 7 ''''''''-'--4- -1111A'' ''''''41k1 r-'' -'4''IlL Wk'''---A-''''''''''''''' -'4' ah t't-''Eq r'-7 it lialliP ikt 1Z t' 7 'i 1: 1 fr i :4 4' 1 4'': zi2: '''''-5''' '-'-'''r 1 1 4 4 '''''-l''''''''''' i 1' 1 ii- ''1'' 1 '-'r'': lil: :1::: 7' 1 -1S: -t '1: :4 '''l4 li 4'L 7 '''z'''''''''' 'i'1Y'- fiff-- 4 i'V al i 4 pp: WILSON He has battled city He has battled baseball's bureaucracy He has battled doubters But Friday night he battled his toughest foe ever Mother Nature Storm clouds hung ominously over Wilson all day Friday threatening to spoil the coming out party of Steve Bryant's Carolina Mudcats But in the best of traditions the show must go on And so they played baseball Friday night And Bryant showed there's nothing wrong with (Ireaming big dreams Move over Bulls the Mudcats are here They're living breathing baseball players dressed in their fin-et flannels really real Fleming Stadium which has seen better days was host of the show The downtown relic was put on call when Bryant's dream stadium in Zebulon missed the opening night deadline But there was baseball to be played on this Friday night and a warm enthusiastic crowd of 4357 turned out Many were greeted at the door by Bryant a 40-year-old advertising executive from Raleigh A jazz band added a touch of New Orleans The mayor of Wilson Ralph El Ramey joined Bryant in opening-game ceremonies Before the Mudcats took the field Bryant sat high in the stands reflecting on what he has wrought "I think it all hit me about 2:30 am Friday morning" Bryant said "I was standing alone on the mound thinking about everything that has happened "I was thinking about all the work these kids had put into this I hired a lot of college kids and gave them a chance to start with us And I stood there watching them wrestle with putting up some bleachers A lot of people have helped in getting to this point" Four years ago it was just a dream Nothing more But Bryant along with Barry Foote wanted to bring baseball back to Raleigh and surrounding areas "I went to the major-league meetings in Dallas and worked the lobby I didn't know a person there But I talked to anybody I could trying to find out what I needed to do "People say this is my teath but that's not true This team belongs to the community "I wanted to give something -tack to baseball I grew up with the game and I felt that this was a way to pay back "Raleigh has a rich tradition in baseball and I wanted it to return I felt the interest was there" Obviously when Bryant started odyssey not everyone was pleased Miles Wolff the Durham Bulls owner had nothing to gain from the competition But the battle was joined Bryant's first thought was to build his stadium near Carter-Finley Stadium But there was a baseball rule that said there was a 35-mile territorial barrier To make a long story very short Bryant moved 37 miles from Wolff and the Bulls The spot was in Zebulon off US 264 -The field was an old tobacco and soybean refuge Now the tractors are at work the graders busy and Bryant says he is hoping for a May 6 opener in Zebulon He also acknowledged Wolff and his Bulls "I think Miles may have felt threatened when he learned of my intentions" Bryant said "And I certainly wouldn't blame him for being protective I hope he respects us for what we have done I respect him for what he has accomplished Really I think there is room for two teams to operate in the area "Frankly I feel like I am 40 going on 90" joked Bryant as he kept a watchful eye on the weather "But now that we are ready to play I feel like it's all been worth it" "Play ball" they intoned at 8 pm Make this first one Mudcats I Mother Nature opportunity He won" Foreman stood tall in defeat "We kept our dignity and there was no retreat" said Foreman "We proved that the age 40 50 or 60 is not a death sentence It will be 50 years before the world sees something like this again" "He proved to me at 42 you're not too old" Holyfield said What the crowd at the Conven- tion Center and viewers on payper-view television got was a genuinely interesting fight There was always the possibility that Big George might land one of the thunderous punches that enabled him to knock out 23 of his 24 comeback opponents and 65 of his 69 career victims Holyfield did not run and hide either He used intelligent movement hard jabs and quick combi- nations to keep the ponderous Foreman off balance throughout Judge Jerry Roth favored Holy- field 117-110 Judge Eugene Grant scored it for the champion 116-111 and judge Tom Kaczmarek saw it for Holyfield 115-112 The victory gave Holyfield consecutive wins over a quarter-ton of opposition He won the championship last Oct 25 on a third-round knockout of 246-pound James "Buster" Douglas Douglas was roundly criticized for being a flabby out-of-condi- tion fighter: Foreman on the other hand rose to heroic propor- tions for some people because of his waistline and his fondness for fast food Foreman decided early in his comeback that he was more corn- -7: fortable fighting in the 240-250 range even the 260s than try to 1 get his weight down it was '14 better to be fat than sleek in middle age 4 Before the fight Foreman talk- 5 ing about the champion's punching power said "Holyfield is not the kind of guy who makes your knees shake" On three or four occasions Fri- day night Holyfield made Foreman's knees shake landing slashing combinations to the head Foreman almost went down late :4 in the ninth round 4 ke 4 4 ATLANTIC CITY NJ George Foreman bowed to Father Time Friday night but not without a fight The Punching Preacher carried his 42 years and 257 pounds over 12 rounds against Evander Holy-field and most of the time he carried them forward "Senior citizens everywhere can be proud of themselves" Foreman said But in the end youth was served Holyfield 14 years younger and 49 pounds lighter was simply too fast of hand and nimble of foot for Foreman and retained the heavyweight championship with a unanimous decision The 12-round loss could send Foreman back into retirement just as a 12-round loss to Jimmy Young in 1977 ended his first boxing career during which he was heavyweight champion in 1973-74 "It was a good performance" said Foreman's brother Roy "I don't know if he'll fight again We'll wait and see" Most of an estimated crowd of 15000 at the Convention Center seemed genuinely pleased that Foreman went the distance There had been criticism that Big George had fed his comeback a diet of weak opponents and that he might end up being embarrassed Foreman was anything but He pursued Holyfield and his dream of becoming the oldest man to win a title in any division occasional- ly landing a jarring left jab an uppercut and a right to the head "I'm glad I didn't take it for granted" Holyfield said "George is a determined fighter He has the desire to win George is a lot quicker than people think He had me confused at times "George can hit" He just didn't hit often enough Foreman landed 188 punches to 355 by Holyfield As soon as the fight ended Foreman walked to Lou Duva Holyfield's adviser and corner man and said: "Thanks for the The Associated Press his heavyweight defense Evander Holyfield left measures George Foreman for a right early in 7: 44 4 NASCAR pulls into new pit rule IACC payotit By CHIP ALEXANDER Staff writer By GERALD MARTIN Staff writer ment under NCAA sanctions NC State which was barred from the '90 tourney forfeited its $210000 share last year Mick le said Duke and UNC could have gotten as much as $19 million each this year under the NCAA's and ACC's former payment system Duke and Georgia Tech each took in $143 million by reaching the 1990 Final Four That came from the ACC's total pot of 0148000 NORTH WILKESBORO If it's broken you fix it If it's bent sometimes it's best not to mess with it Two months after NASCAR confused the better part of Dixie with modified pit procedures that didn't work the Itttge Jtsfaui sanctioning body announced Friday 4: that it once again would embrace i its old format with just a couple i of twists that should help protect --V the life and limb of those who work on pit road Iiirrl 1 Thus on a rainy day that washed out qualifying for Sunday's First Union 400 most of the competitors had ear-to-ear grins of optimism Now they can get back to what they Elliott do best having at it the way they used to on the Clemson will be getting the same amount as Duke and Carolina' Tom Mickle Assistant ACC commissioner The financial matter was put to a vote at a February league meeting in Florida Mickle said ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan offered the equal-split proposal and support for the idea was unanimous Mickle added Mickle said the ACC schools also agreed to divide postseason bowl revenues equally "We surveyed most of the other conferences and believe many will adopt similar plans" Mickle said "It could be a national trend" Mickle said no decision had been reached on whether to withhold Maryland's share of the basketball money The Terps who are on NCAA probation were banned from the '91 tourna The Atlantic Coast Conference which will garner more than $6 million from the 1991 NCAA ketball tournament revenues has agreed to split up the kitty differently this year For the first time the league's schools will receive equal shares of the NCAA money Play or not play first-round loser or NCAA champion the payoff will be the same Assistant ACC commissioner Tom Mickle confirmed Friday that league members would receive matching $792000 shares from NCAA revenue this year The ACC which had six schools participate in the '91 tourney will get about $63 million under the NCAA's new revenue distribution formula "Duke and North Carolina reached the Final Four and Duke won the NCAA championship but Clemson will be getting the same amount as Duke and Carolina" Mickle said Until this year ACC schools were allowed to pocket the entire first-game payoff $286000 in 1990 and then 70 percent of any additional NCAA money it earned by advancing The remainder then was split seven ways The NCAA distribution plan was arranged after the signing of a seven-year $1 billion contract with CBS to televise the NCAA tournament The formula was designed with the intent of doing away with the "$300000 free throw" and reducing the pressure put on players and coaches Inside race track and within reason also on pit road Effective in Sunday's race at North Wilkesboro Speedway whenever the caution flag is displayed and pit road is opened drivers will be allowed to pit at any time for service including tire changes I Is Football SC The Dallas Cowboys will have the first crack at Notre Dame's Raghib 'Rocket' Ismail See NASCAR page 4C i4 4 4 4.