The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 29

SPORTS DAILY wwwkcstarcom THE KAN8 TAR Sunday April 4 1999 Simply the best David Duval will take the tide of top golfer in the world into this week Masters 12 The Attack beats Wichita wins home-field advantage in first round of playoffs 5 The bass fishing is good in th6 Suburbs 13 Baseball '99 Royals spring forward Hard work pays off in record-setting numbers The Star previews the 1999 major-league baseball season focusing on the Haves and Have-Nots in Section By DICK KAEGEL The Kansas City Star write about those not in the numbers I think what seen down here Those little things that are not in the numbers but after nine innings add up to a ballgame" Those numbers you do write about in the Grapefruit League count as much as the pulpy peel you throw in the garbage Yet for a month the Royals played with a purpose was clawing for jobs today Because the section was printed early Thursday morning some information has become outdated For instance the section doesn't reflect that the Royals traded Jeff Conine to Baltimore on Friday Almost in keeping with the theme the Royals dumped Conine in a cost-cutting move that trimmed their team payroll to around $24 million Oh well play ball think we surprised a lot of peo pitcher Kevin Appier said Did they ever These Royals were doomed from the start if you read the winter predictions Why they were so hopeless maybe they show up for opener against the Boston Red Sox But manager Tony Muser saw more than the victory column here game of baseball is played by human beings with human spirit and competitiveness all those intangibles that are not in box he said BASEBALL CITY Fla It was by the numbers the most successful spring training in Royals history Fterhaps it was the best too in ways that cannot be measured numerically yet The Royals finished with a 22-9 record the top winning percentage (710) in their 31 years and the best in the major leagues this spring They had winning streaks of nine and five games See ROYALS C-4 SUNDAY PROJECT Going car-azy JASON WHITLOCK Chiefs should put money on George spent all off-season swearing that I comment on Jeff George my old high school pal and favorite NFL quarterback whom the Raiders cut in February But I stay silent any longer transpiring this weekend seems like a cruel cruel joke Let me get this straight: The Minnesota Vikings are on the verge of signing George to a one-year $500000 incentiveladen contract The same Vikings who went 15-1 a year ago had the most prolific offense in NFL history and were led by quarterback Randall Cunningham who had an MVP-type season Meanwhile our Chiefs who finished 7-9 a year ago and played musical chairs-at quarterback are having Elvis Grbac switch from jersey Na 1 1 to No 18 and are wooing Johnny Unitas I mean Warren Moon to come here as a backup Come on this be real can it? So I called George in Indianapolis on Saturday morning true The Chiefs interested in signing him and on the verge of signing with the Vikings for virtually no money and no guarantee of ever seeing the field told everybody all along that it about money" George said a good team money be an issue I just need to be with a good team work hard stay positive and the money and playing time will take care of itself I could sign with another team for a lot of money and get beat up But winning is the only thing that matters in this league got to look around and see what a VinnyTestaveide (a New York Jets quarterback) did and what Randall did last year coming to the So let me get this straight again: George who everyone agrees has as much talent as any quarterback who led the AFC in passing efficiency in 1997 is on the big-name drivers and the crowds they draw could add some zip to the Kansas City area economy Photos 8 photos digitally altered By JOHN SLEEZERThe Kansas City Star NASCAR event would pump excitement big bucks By JIM PEDLEY The Kansas City Star press corps The people of Kansas City are going to to say have Wheeler singing solo in his assessment of what a Winston Cup race can do for and to a community Ken Squire the man behind the mike when CBS televises a Winston Cup race says Wheeler may even about Kansas City getting a race a fact all but made a slam dunk recently when NASCAR president Bill France said Kansas City is spending too much money to be in the minor leagues of racing races are Wheeler says bring a sense of spectacle to an area that nothing else can give" Wheeler is rolling now transporters the cars the enough in describing his part in the maturing of stock-car racing in America Wheeler knows the kind of economic and emotional impact that a NASCAR event can have on a city He has watched millions of fans and dollars pour into places such as Las Vegas and Fort Worth Texas two of the newest additions to the racing circuit why Wheeler is so excited will the people of Kansas City think when NASCAR comes to town? think wow When this Gypsy caravan rolls in the people of Kansas City believe it" Wheeler knows a good bit about that Gypsy caravan lie has ridden shotgun on it through good times and bad He is currently operator of legendary Charlotte Motor Speedway but that go nearly far One-word answers are not HA specialty Especially when the question concerns NASCAR But there he stands dumbfounded and spinning his wheels in an attempt to answer a question he just wait to answer Wheeler finally says See PROJECT C-9 See WHITLOCK C-6 Walls closing in on coach Three candidates talk to AD about job By MIKE DeARMOND The Kaniai City Star Coaching hopefuls The leading candidates for the Missouri basketball coaching job: Quin Snyder Duke assistant: 32-year-old wunderkind Could he recruit to MU as he has to Duke? Bill Self Tulsa head coach: Has ties to Oklahoma State and might be in line to take over when Eddie Sutton leaves Kim Anderson MU assistant: Current players respect him and like him Norm Stewart critics would complain not far enough removed from the former coach head were just flying in there" he says The Wizards have not scored a goal in seven months The last time they scored a goal was back in September a 5-1 stomping of San Jose Yes they scored five goals Preki scored three of them everything was beautiful and the goaflooked as big as Wisconsin Saturday shot hit the post 20 seconds into the game A few minutes latet Mo shot on Newman has spent all 64 years of his life around this of soccer and he loves it so much and he has no idea happening to his boys No idea He sits in the locker room at Arrowhead Stadium just moments after his Wizards were shut out again the sixth straight time over two seasons and Ron Newman finds that he cannot stop talking practice we were scoring goals like crazy" he says were phone conversation Saturday shortly before hitting the road to see whether there is anything else out there that quacks Alden said he spoke with Anderson an MU assistant about replacing his old mentor on Saturday morning in Columbia That followed a Friday Interview with Duke assistant Snyder in Detroit and a late Friday night talk with Self COLUMBIA Missouri had three ducks lined up in a tow Quin Snyder Bill Self and Kim Anderson all sat down eyeball to eyeball with Mike Alden in attempts to try to convince him that they are each the man to replace Norm Stewart as Missouri basketball coach Alden the athletic director confirmedthat much in a tele JOE POSH AN SKI Incredible goals We were knocking so many bloody balls into the bad of the net Balls were just flying in He looks up at us and shakes his See TIGERS C-6 See POSNANSKI C-5.