The Wichita Eagle from Wichita, Kansas • 11

4t NBA3 BUSINESS FARM7 MARKETS8-10 QltKdrtto (Eagle Working overtime Chanda Rubin wins longest match in Australian Open history reaches semis2 WEDNESDAY January 24 1996 0 1996 The Wichita Eagle and Beacon Publishing Co Inc 1 'ji vi Asbury staying away from possibilities FRED MANN Oklahoma State have anyone who can shoot the ball and your defense holds opponents to 38 percent shooting best in the Big Eight Forward Mark Young has been shutting down everybody and center Gerald Faker seems to be blocking or altering every shot Forward Tyrone Davis is muscling people around and point guard Elliot Hatcher is bucking for a spot on the affieague team See WILDCATS Page 6B them on the schedule again And the Wildcats are 124 Last year they finished 12-15 In league games K-State is 2-1 compared to last year's 3-11 won any more games than we did last year We done anything we do last done But you won back-toback road games and you do that last year your first at K-State The Wildcats hadn't done that for three yearn And favored tonight because place last year and was supposed to finish second to last this year And now going into game against Oklahoma State at Bramlage Coliseum the Wildcats are in second place other coaches have still got to play us again why they say that Tm not buying what they say It's too soon to telL" Too soon? But wait a minute One of the coaches raving about K-State Is Oklahoma's Kelvin Sampson and the Sooners have already played K-State twice You have By Greg Couch The Wichita Eagle Admit it Tom Asbury excited no not going to draw me into that one" Draw in? But you're coaching the team that every other coach in the league refers to as the Big big surprise "We're getting set up by those other coaches" Set up? But Kansas State finished in last Wings' SOS draws HOME TEAM Get off my back no reply Nearly two months ago the Wichita Wings franchise sinking financially sent out a distress signal So far the community has tossed it an anchor One of the club's goals was to raise through the sale of 80024-game ticket books at $125 per book So far it hassoid only 200 books The other goal was to raise an additional $100)00 in corporate sponsorships So far it has raised only $5)0 These numbers come from Wings president Roy Turner and they mean that with less than one month to go to the Feb 21 deadline for a decision on the ftiture of the franchise you get the feeling that the Steeien are mine likely to win the Super Bowl than the Wings are to survive in Wichita When a pro franchise has been around for 17 years it is odd to think that it could disappear for want of a couple hundred grand seen the Wings raise that much in three days It may come Injury turns into a lesson for Dye By James Wangemann The Wichita Eagle Double vision A rebuilt eye socket that mixes plastic with bone Clayton Dye expected neither from his first season of junior college basketball Then again no one told Dye that a teammate at Pratt Community College would sucker-punch him during a practice on Nov 30 hitting him so hard that his right eye would swell shut for almost a week just dropped to the floor" said Dye a Gfoot-4 freshman guard from Rose HilL surprised me I guess A tot" Seven weeks later the surprise is that Dye will be in uniform tonight when Pratt plays at Butler County It will be his fifth game since returning to the team Jan 6 and be wearing plastic goggles which offer minimal protection to the right eye socket that was rebuilt during a four-hour operation Dec 11 "They're kind of Pratt coach Greg Morris said of goggles "You ever watch Star Trek: The Next They took like the glasses that Levar Burton wears" The goggles restrict peripheral vision but for now a good side effect still have double vision at 3 or 4 to the right" Dye said "but my goggles block a tot of that My doctor said that hopefully within three months my double vision will be gone and HI be seeing everything straight not like I see two baskets but Tm not seeing the floor and everything around me like Tm used to and frustrating" At the time of his injury Dye was averaging about 11 points and six rebounds a game for Pratt Since his return his scoring average has dipped to about seven points as be has strug- But usually you see a lot of activity when the Wings are struggling to stay alive: bake sales car washes pepralhes telethons This time it seems very quiet on the Savethe-Wings front Maybe they have had too much time never had three months before" Turner said 1 told my staff nothing would happen in the first month with Christmas and everything But obviously a lot has got to happen in the next few weeks" Some question whether Turner's heart is in the effort Even as he is trying to keep the team in Wichita he is trying to sell it He has placed ads for the team in business journals in 17 cities he said and he is contacting arenas and chambers of commerce around the country But Turner said he has to look out for the financial interests of the stockholders A franchise in the National Professional Soccer League is going for about $250000 these days The 175 Wings stockholders have sunk about $217000 into the team Turner said So even counting a few outstanding debts a sale would at least return their investment to them The response from potential buyers so far zero "But I don't know how many people really know about it" Turner said Turner also said he still would rather save the team for Wichita 1 think maybe that mentioned I am trying to sell it and people might misconceive that as given up" Turner said not true at alL fancy the Raleigh-Durham Wings" he said just make sense Tm still working night and day (to keep the team In Wichita) IH do it HI Bulls blast Knicks Associated Press back from retirement he burned the Knicks for 55 the most scored in 99-79 Indiana's demolition of visiting Phoenix Miller scored 12 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter He was called for a technical when he stared down the Suns bench after closing the scoring stretch with his sixth 3polnter in eight attempts Magic 105 76ers Shaquille O'Neal scored 20 points and Dennis Scott had five 3-pointers as Orlando stayed unbeaten at home with a rout of Philadelphia Dennis Scott finished with 19 points for the Magic points any game since resuming his career last March In that game the Bulls needed that kind of effort to eke out a twopoint victory Not this time The Bulls opened a 20point lead in the third quarter with their big run and the score was 7656 at the end of three quarters Pacers 117 Suns 102 A taunting Reggie Miller scored a season-high 40 points in The Chicago Bulls blew past the New York Knicks with a 19-2 third-quarter run on the way to their 12th straight victory 99-79 Tuesday night Michael Jordan had 33 points in 36 minutes for the visiting Bulls the eighth straight game in which put up 30 or more He's averaging during his current streak last visit to Madison Square Garden was a night to remember In just his fifth game See HOME TEAM Page GB See MANN Page 68 Sports Report Chris Wnuneris career minor-league stats 1993 Team AB 2B3BHR SBRBI Avg San Jose (A) 123 493 76 130 21 4 3 49 53 264 Team AB 2B 3B HR SB RBI Avg Shreveport (AA) 126 462 63 131 21 3 4 21 49 284 Team AB 2B3BHR SB RBI Avg Phoenix (AAA) 121 449 55 118 23 4 2 13 44 263 Wimmer in the WSU record book Curinr inunn Average: 366 (9th) Hits: 125 in 1991 (1st) Stolen bases: 136 (5th) Runs: 99 in 1991 (10th) Hit by pitch: 20 (Tlst) Stolen bases: 54 in 1991 (7th) 52 in 1992 (9th) Hitting streak: 32 games in (2nd) Oklahoma State at Kansas State When: Tonight 7:05 Where: Bramlage Coliseum (13500) Records: OSU 106 03 Big Eight K-State 124 3-1 Tickets: (800) 221-CATS Ratio: Wildcat Network including KFH (1330AM) in Wichita TV: None Line: KSU by 3 Oklahoma City at Thunder When: Tonight 7 Where: Kansas Coliseum (9686) Records: Oklahoma City 31-9-2 Thunder 10-27-1 Tickets: 264G0AL Select-A-Seat outlets Promotion: T-95 Rock Card Night all tickets $5 when fans present their T-95 Rock Card CHylne updates: 436-1200 category PUCK mu Former Shocker Chris Wimmer hopes to find a new home in SL Louis sees trade as an opportunity later' in the December deal that played at DoubfeA Shreveport in found an every-day Top 25 No 1 UMass at Pitt No 4 UConn 116 Cent Conn 46 Indiana 99 No 16 Michigan 83 No 22 Texas Tech at SMU CHy League boys East at West Kapaun at North Northwest at Heights Southeast at South Wimmer By Bob lutz The Wichita Eagle When Chris Wimmer heard that San Francisco Giants general manager Bob Quinn was holding for him on the telephone 10 days ago he figured Quinn wanted to talk about something iAgr thought maybe he was calling to invite me to big league camp or to tell me I was being traded" said Wimmer formerly of Wichita East and Wichita State "Or worst-case scenario I was getting released" It was Wimmer was being traded Quinn was calling to tell him he had been dealt to the SL Louis Cardinals as the to be named scores NBA Toronto 86 New Jersey 79 Orlando 105 Philadelphia 90 Atlanta 84 Cleveland 72 Indiana 117 Phoenix 102Chicago at New York Portland at Utah Dallas at Sacramento Scoreboard 3B NHL New Jersey 3 Los Angeles 1 Florida at Washington NPSL Baltimore 23 Wichita 10 Milwaukee at Kansas City Missouri Valley Bradley 71 Evansville 60 second baseman They still have holdovers Jose Oquendo and Geronimo Pena They could go with young David Ben who played second some last season after being acquired from Cleveland but is more of a third baseman They acquired free agent Mike Gallego And they could even give aging legend Ozzie Smith a look at second because it appears unlikely that the 41-year-old Smith will beat Clayton out at shortstop Wimmer figures to get a look too And he also could get a chance as a utility player because he can play See WIMMER Page 6B 1996 has moved ahead of Wimmer in the minds of Giants officials Wimmer obviously agree But he isn't pouting have hurt feelings when you are traded" he said think it's a good thing really I was just reading in Baseball Weekly where the Cardinals said the three pitchers they traded were an prospects Obviously the Cardinals wanted something for them" Wimmer will be Involved in a crowded picture at second base once spring training begins The Cardinals who have been one of the busiest teams during the offseason still brought Royce Clayton to the Cardinals for three pitchers first reaction was said Wimmer a second baseman who is spending the offseason in Wichita finishing work on his degree in communications and getting ready for the 1996 season had heard from the people a couple of times this winter and I never got any indication that I wasn't going to be with them" Wimmer 25 batted 263 with the Triple-A team in Phoenix last season but hit better than 300 during the final two months Apparently though prospect Jay Canizaro who Cftyfine (316) 436-1200 Local: category 9250 NFL: category 6775 NBA: category 6785 NHL: category 6780 NCAA: category 6790.