The Kansas City Times from Kansas City, Missouri • 39

JiKlinsnsffihj Simfs SportsBusiness iK Section Friday July 23 1962 try to come down to earth Bill Lee is a major-league martyr because he compromise ByJackEtkln A Msmbsr ol th Sports Stall MONTREAL Only the bags I went I cant believe it Did you get sent And he said I got released No one By Jonathan Rand Strike threat wanted An Infuriated Lee stormed into the office of Expos Manager Jim Fanning "He Lee says "so I left a note telling him where I was because he had said if you're ever late for a ballgame or absent give me a call or leave me a note and you'll be Lee headed to a nearby tavern and left the crab-apple branch and a terse confrontational note on desk down at the Brasserie 77" he wrote and get me" Fanning never did Lee was fined a pay and $8000 and released within 34 hours still under contract to the Expos this season and 8ee LEE Page D-2 Col 1 formali-Uea of three outa remained in the 7-0 game that mercifully had moved into the bottom of the seventh and last inning Watching these dull proceedings drag into a loss the first baseman his 7-year-old son sitting on his lap and the none-too-pleasant visions of a game full of change-upe and breaking pitches running through his mind suddenly became animated when a teammate swung at a tantalizing fastball what I'm looking for low heat" he says on! bat around I want one more hack I want to hit a fastball" For 680 major-leaguers this night after the All-Star Game brought an evening of welcome idleness before was no record most ballplayers leave with a here-today-gone-tomor-row suddenness? On the roster one day an agate-type name filed under Transactions the next It was that way for Lee except the exit door swung open after he made one last personal stand for a teammate done my IVfc miles running on a course (near Olympic recalls when I was coming back I picked off this crab-apple branch that was in blossom I ran the beer out of me from the night before and I'd thrown three innings and run the stiffness out of my shoulder come back and there's (second baseman) Rodney Scott packing his the beginning of the second-half grind For Bill Lee heaven was another swing for Monsieur Jeannol a team in the highest-rated fast-pitch softball league in Quebec Sponsored by a doggrooming establishment the Monsieur Jeannol players wear the old-style boxy caps that were revived by the Pittsburgh Pirates the caps are orange and feature a small poodle coifed with a top hat The dimly lighted fields of Quebec are a light year from the manicured major-league diamonds where Bill Lee won 119 games and lost 90 during 13 seasons in Boston and Montreal Odd as the setting may seem altogether natural to Lee a ballplayer" he says all been That's why playing here I play every Besides playing for Monsieur Jeannol Lee either pitches or plays first base or right field for Les Senate urs de Longueuil a semipro baseball team in the Quebec Senior League The competition in both leagues he says "is the best got around "I leave right now and I'll play at the highest level anyone will let me play" he says Until May 8 that meant pitching for the Expos His record was no decisions and an eamed-run average of 438 for 12 innings and then there hovers over start Training camp always starts with uncertainty The Chiefs like any other team in the National Football League come to camp each summer with as many question marks to resolve as and O's to digest Do they have a quarterback who will make their offense hum? Can they find linebackers who will make their defense solid? Do they have a punter who can make the ball float on air? Have they found a game-breakingwide receiver? These questions may be mundane this summer compared to a far bigger one: Will there be a season this sea New Chiefs safety says recording was swan song son? A group dominated by rookies and free agents begins two-a-day drills today under a sun at William Jewell College in Liberty that usually fluctuates from overbearing to sadistic Training camp is a torture players endure to enjoy the regular season but this year the torture could be suffered for naught The collective-bargaining agreement between the NFL Players Association and the team owners expired last week and until they agree on a new one the 1982 season stands in limbo As former University of Texas Coach Darrell Royal used to say about passing three things can happen and two of them are bad Frank NlemelrSUff Safety Jimmy Allen is singing a new song at the training facilities at William Jewell College after being acquired from the Detroit Lions By Kent Pulliam A Msmbof ollhi Sporti Start Jimmy Allen took the Chiefs' training camp by storm Thursday afternoon regaling 69 rookies free agents and assorted veterans with his version of the song City Allen a nine-year veteran safety recently acquired from the Detroit Lions for a 1983 draft choice win any awards for originality But be satisfied if this anthem proves less prophetic than the tune he believes led to his unexpected exit from the Motor City Alien said be believes his trade can be traced to the fifth game of the 1980 season a 43-28 loss to the Atlanta Falcons The lions had won their first four games after a 2-14 season in 1979 and the hit song in Detroit was a version of "Another One Bites the Dust' recorded by Jimmy Allen Dave Hill and James Hunter After losing to Atlanta the Lions lost four of the next six games Following a 24-23 loss to the St Louis Cardinals the St Louis fans drove the Lions from the field with their own rendition of the song while the players danced to the tune got the approval of the team and (Coach) Monte Clark and he said as long as it is not degrading to the team or to the National Football League it would be all right" Allen said "We went down to Atlanta and lost to Atlanta and after that I just think that Monte Clark like the song Then when St Louis had the whole team out there dancing Allen wasn't doing any singing the day the Lions sent him packing to Kansas City talk" Allen said received a call from Monte Clark and five minutes later I was a member of the Chiefs" The trade left Allen dumbfounded He has played 98 pro games and started 59 Since being traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers to Detroit in 1978 he has been a starter What makes the trade even more mysterious is that Detroit have an experienced player to replace him "That's why I was surprised" said Allen who has intercepted 31 passes in his eight pro seasons "I see their secondary being solid at all this year We were hoping we could get solid through the draft but then they let starters Allen was the second starter to be traded Luther Bradley was traded earlier to Houston "I was prepa paring for this season harder than ever" Allen said "You are never supposed to think about all-pro or anything like that but I was secretly thinking if I really put some time in I could get 10 llor 12 or even 13 interceptions this next year We just missed the playoffs last year and all of my thoughts were for Detroit and getting into the playoffs All of a sudden with the Chiefs "I guess Monte just liked country music and I liked rock and roll To us it (the song) was never a song to antagonize the other team it was for the Detroit Lions After we lost to Atlanta they threw the song out We never sang again and it took something out of the team Allen finished the 1981 season with nine interceptions more than any player on the Chiefs last season But two-a-day practices begin this morning at 9:30 and it is uncertain how fit in in Kansas City Allen like any other professional would like to be a starter but it '8 most likely he will be the fifth defensive back in the Chiefs' schemes (the Chiefs) told me they had four starters and that was the extent of it" Allen said "They said that I have a very good chance to play TTiey never said I would start My preference of course would be to start and I see any reason not to "But I compete against other players I come in and say to the guy starting at strong safety (Uoyd Burruss) that I'm going to beat him out of a job I say to (Gary) Barbara that I should be starting before him I learned a great deal from the Steelers (in his first four years in the league) I learned you do not compete against other players You compete against other teams Right now my future is with the Kansas City Chiefs I hope to be able to say with the Chief in four or five years Allen may think twice before he fools around with any more songs Chiefs head coach Marv Levy is a lyricist in his own right having composed the words to the Chiefs' fight song "I know if I should sing or shout or close my Allen said "I know what to If an agreement is reached by opening day Sept 12 no problem If not the players may strike probably a few weeks into the regular season Hie owners reportedly have discussed beating the players association to the punch by locking out players rather than let them start the season with no agreement It was difficult to take the prospects of such turmoil seriously Thursday as the first wave of Chiefs reported to Liberty for physical exams It was a hot lazy day not the kind that suggests a storm But as the summer wears on you blame anybody for checking the clouds Will the season get closer or farther away? a disturbing question for any player to ponder as he sweats away the summer an individual thing" said Jimmy Allen a veteran safety obtained recently from the Detroit Lions sure some people will say it's very distracting Some guys will wonder Am I practicing for "Other guys will just be into making the team They just eat sleep and cry football You could beat them over the head with a strike sign and they notice" Comets moving in on Kings for a share of winter TV time By Randy Covitz A Member ol the Sport Staff A year ago the Comets were a second banana when it came to winter radio and television coverage in Kansas City Only 14 of their first 44 games were carried on radio and four of them were added after the initial contract for 10 home games was signed Only eight games were televised three of them home games A year later the banana has ripened Three television stations Channels 41 9 and 5 (which televised the Comets last season) are negotiating for the rights to broadcast indoor soccer next season And KCMO radio is doee to reaching an agreement with the Comets calling for the full schedule of Comets games to be broadcast The visibility seems likely to equal that of the Kings who are scrambling even to match the exposure of past years KCMO hopes to have both the and Comets' radio broadcasts The Kings are still talking with Channel 41 KSHB-TV after the station aborted a three-year contract with the team last April in the second year of the agreement The previous contract with Channel 41 was based on a profit-sharing concept But because of only a handful of sponsors and low ratings apparently there were little or no profits to share and Channel 41 canceled the contract before a scheduled telecast from Dallas on March 26 Previous agreements with Channel 41 required the Kings to buy air time and sell spota to advertisers but Joe Axel-son the Kings' president and general manager said he doesn't anticipate that sort of an arrangement be on Axelson said under discussion and I negotiate in the newspapers How often be on is still being discussed I like to do a lot of games on TV a lot of basketball already on TV do enough games to create interest and promote upcoming games" Lonnie Dale KSHB-TV production manager whose station telecast 15 Kings road games and the home opener last season said last contract "was not a good arrangement for both parties so we decided to enter into a different agreement We've always had good rapport with Joe Axelson" If Channel 41 were to get the rights to the Comets Bob Wormington KSHB general manager said he sees no conflict between having both teams on one station He said if his station had the Comets it would televise games than (were carried) last Wormington aaid the Kings and Comets appear to draw from different segments of the community and televising both would "broaden our scope and that's appealing to any television station" Both teams also find Channel 41 appealing because through cable systems the UHF station reaches 780000 subscriber homes in a six-state area (Missouri Kansas Iowa Nebraska Arkansas and Oklahoma) Comets President Tracy Leiweke is in the midst of meeting with all three stations and said "Whichever station we go on we hope to stay with and establish an Identity" As for radio coverage Steve Shannon KCMO radio vice president and general manager said he expects his station to carry both the Comets and Kings In the event both teams are playing on the name night Shannon said that KLSI-FM (formerly KWKI) will probably carry one of the See COMETS Page D4 Cal 1 INI Photo Artis Gilmore (left) challenges Boston Celtics center Robert Parish in one of the few playoff games he played In while with the Chicago Bulls Spurs acquire Gilmore for two veteran players Allen immediately noticed picket signs when he reported to the JTm Pittsburgh Steelers in 1974 for his first pro training camp A majority of veterans struck at the start of NFL camps leaving them populated mainly by rookies and free agents The veterans understandably wanted rookies and free agents to stay home and support the strike which collapsed before the regular season started "I remember (Steelers punter) Bobby Walden saying rookies come to Allen said "I said You must be crazy no way going ti miss this camp' All rookies are thinking about is making the team" Rookies apparently haven't changed their thinking since biggest thing is making the team and starting your career" said Bob Carter a rookie cornerback from Arizona drafted in the 11th round "Until done that you really be concerned about anything after that You have to have a priority Unlike the summer of 1974 NFL coaches worry about veterans missing camp this year The NFLPA realizing a strike would have maximum impact during the regular season has indicated it make a move any earlier The NFL labor standoff is a time bomb neither negotiating team seems in a hurry to defuse The longer they dawdle the harder It will be to Ignore the ticking a distraction no coach wants poisoning his camp How will Chiefs Coach Marv Levy minimize the distractions of strike talk? "By not involving myself In he said nothing I can do to resolve the issue a lot I could probably do to screw it up by making some foolish statements" Coaches will conduct business as usual until somebody tells them they cant Theirs is a day-at-a-tlme game-at-a-time discipline that labor unrest disupt Levy will assume that the train is on schedule until someone tears up the tracks alternative" he said "Is to say this (a strike) might happen and go in with a limited amount of enthuei-asm so if there is a season sure to fail" For a team limited enthusiasm can kill a season For a union it can kill a strike There wont be unlimited enthusiasm to go around for both Royals hope home remedy cures ills Thi nrifrttfl Prttt SAN ANTONIO Texas Artis Gilmore an All-Star center in nine of his 11 pro hofkofhoii seasons was acquired by the San Antonio Spurs from the Chicago Bulls on Thursday for backup center Dave Condne and starting forward Mark Olberding Gilmore 32 was an All-Star in each of the five years he played for the Kentucky Colonels In the American Basketball Association Gilmore Julius Ervlng and David Thompson were three of the ABA's star players whom the National Basketball Association was eager to have join its league Gilmore has been with the Bulls for six years and has played in the NBA All-Star Game four times including last season when he averaged 185 points He was ninth in the league in rebounds with a 102 average first in field-goal percentage and fourth in blocked shots The poor performance last season they were 34-48 st times led Gilmore to consider retirement "Maybe it (retirement) will happen after mis season maybe next but it will be soon very soon" he said last December tired of losing" He has been in the playoffs only twice In six years with the Bulls Corzine future had been In limbo since he announced a week ago that he had signed an offer sheet with the New Jersey Nets San Antonio newspapers reported that the proposed contract was for $325 million over five years Under NBA rules the Spurs had 15 days to match the offer or let Corzine 28 who became a free agent at the end of last season go to New Jersey Wayne Witt the public relations director said San Antonio will match the offer and then deal Corzine and Olberding to Chicago Corzine who is feet 11 and 285 pounds is a native of Chicago and played at De Paul He averaged 101 points and 77 rebounds last season but played well in the playoffs averaging ISA points and 94 rebounds Olberding 38 averaged 13 points and 65 rebounds last season missing 14 games because of various injuries last season's 19-28 home mark being the exception favors the Royals at home This summer in fact no team in the American League can match the Royals' 39-14 record at home It is a figure that offers stark contrast to the 19-28 mark the club has compiled away from Kansas City gets tough and old playing on the road" said George Brett who like Quisenberry wore the Royals' uniform in defeat at the All-fltar Game in Montreal "Everybody is yelling their 2-centa worth at you You got that In Kansas City "Milwaukee played us tough Boston played well and then Toronto Our flee ROYALB Page D-8 Cel 1 what I hear my little boy (David Michael) learned to walk while I was gone That's how long we were gone "Losing you have to understand has a way of making any trip seem long You can only be frustrated so long Then It gets to be depressing Some of us were because of the All-Star Game (lost again by the American The switch from the road to Royals Stadium provides nothing more tangible than the caress of loved ones and the commiseration of fans who moan rather than roar at the Royals' shortcomings But It Is a comforting fact for the Royals that there really is no place like home Tradition with By Mike Fish A Manner of Sis Sports Staff It was with a wry grin and a sense of relief that Dan Quisenberry looked upon the muggy familiarity of home Thursday the Royals having returned to enjoy a day off and to try to forget a trip that was at first frustrating and eventually depressing The nearly two-week-long excursion to Boston Milwaukee and Toronto cost the Royals five games in the American League West standings the 2-8 skid transforming a two-game division lead into a three-game deficit The California Angels have taken over the too soot got to be bettor at home' Quleenbeny the Royals' jopi I.