Newsday (Nassau Edition) from Hempstead, New York • 53

A53 Trade: Career for Family The ride ia over for now After eight years countless bus rides promotions to the nuyor leagues with Toronto and St Louis and five years with more than 1300 at-bats at the Triple-A level Ray Giannelli of Copiague has decided it's time to put his family first Giannelli was given his outright release from the Colorado Springs Rockies the Triple-A affiliate of Colorado on June 30 He was offered a contract with Double-A affiliate in Knoxville of the Southern League the following day but turned that down to spend time with Michelle his wife of a year and a half and Matthew their 3-month-old son the year I had last year getting released was the furthest thing from my Giannelli said could have kept playing for Toronto and worked my way back to Triple A but I talked it over with my wife and it was time to get things situated at home first" release is a bit of a mystery He was chosen the Most Valuable Player last year at Triple-A Louisville in the Cardinals organization having led the Redbuds to the American Association championship He batted 295 and hit 16 homers with 70 RBI for Louisville and finished seventh in the league in hitting His performance earned him a September call-up during which he had one hit in 11 at-bats got my first championship ring Giannelli said was amazing It was something I waited a long time for" The Redbuds defeated the Buffalo Bisons Triple-A affiliate in five games for the title was headed in the right direction after 1995 and in the offseason I could have re-signed with the Cardinals" Giannelli said my agent and I decided to look at Minnesota who kept calling because we thought it would be a good career move and an easier place to get a mqjor-league Giannelli signed with Minnesota at the start of the 1996 season and went to mqjor-league camp The move pan out as Minnesota manager Tom Kelly sent Giannelli to the Triple-A affiliate in Salt City He was released 30 at-bats into the season and signed a week later with Colorado Springs He hit 230 in 54 games with two homers and 17 RBI for Colorado Springs before Milt Thompson was signed by the parent dub creating a domino effect throughout the organization and leaving Giannelli the odd man out in Colorado Springs when outfielder Harvey Pulliam was sent down eight years I never worried about getting he said now happened twice in a year hard to swallow The first one is tough Giannelli 30 was drafted by Toronto in the 38th round of the 1988 draft out of New York Tech and rose swiftly through the organization reaching the majors in three years He was called up in 1991 a year in which Toronto reached the playoffs but lost the pennant to Minnesota Giannelli a lefthanded hitter went 4-for-24 and batted 167 and played third base for the Blue Jays never forget getting the Giannelli said from his home in Lindenhurst was the highlight of my never forget his performance against future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan of the Rangers Giannelli walked twice in his two at-bats stole second and scored a run have no regrets about not playing right Giannelli said know I played hard every day go back to spring training next year and take my best shot and see what happens The right thing to do now is settle my family down buy a house here on the South Shore and get my personal life Drivers Make Game Success Boxer Golota Wanted In Poland For Prior Criminal Charges Andrew Golota disqualified last week against Riddick Bowe in a bout that ended in a riot fled Poland six years ago on charges of assault and robbery The Polish heavyweight according to Polish media reports is still wanted to stand trial and could face a minimum of five years In prison if convicted Details of the charges are not immediately dear However Golota could get an assist from Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski who was sports minister in the country's last communist government Kwasniewski in the United States to attend the Atlanta Olympics spoke with Golota last night at a reception at the Polish consulate in New York aaid a consulate official Krzysztof Jedrzejewski had a chance to speak to the Jedrzejewski said "The president said he would see what legal means can be taken to help him He didn't promise anything Charges Agaiest learns Players Dropped sexual assault and conspiracy charges against four suspended Oemson football players were dropped when the woman who said they gang-raped her in a university dorm refused to testify The players aN freshmen were indefinitely suspended after they were arrested Feb 20 because of the seriousness of the charge coach Tommy West said The woman told police she was drinking gin and having sex with one of the players Feb 15 when two more came out of a closet and a fourth came into the room and Joined in West said he would make a final decision about their status as players alter he receives official word that the first-degree criminal aexual assault and conspiracy charges had been dropped BASKETBALL Woieea's MM Metz Cable TV DeaL ESPN and Lifetime Television will televise weekly games of the Women's National Basketball Association in prime time when the league debuts next June NBC had previously said it would broadcast WNBA games on Saturday afternoons All three networks have fiveyear deals and are not paying rights fees NBA Commissioner David Stem said yesterday They will share revenues with the WNBA which intends to field eight teams in NBA cities with each playing a 28-game schedule NBA teams in those dtiee would own and operate the local WNBA franchise Stem said the committee of NBA owners overseeing the WNBA will meet late next month and hopes to award franchises sometime after Labor Day He said 1 6 teams have expressed strong interest ESPN will air most of its games on Mondays at either 7:30 pm or 8:30 pm and Lifetime on Fridays at 9 pm The Final Four doubleheader Aug 28 wiN be simulcast by each NBC will carry the championship game Aug 30 ESPN wiH produce the games for Lifetime which carries no other live sports but there will be separate announcers said Lifetime president and CEO Doug McCormick Nine or 1 0 of the USA Olympic team members have signed deals to play in other pro leagues but Val Ackerman the NBA's vice president of business affairs said the WNBA hopes to attract international players and US athletes playing abroad Ackerman said the WNBA will restrict itself to players who have completed their collegiate eligibility Stave Zipay Mew Mexica Stats sa Prsbatioa The NCAA placed the New Mexico State basketball program on three years of probation and restricted the school from ofter-teg scholarships to Junior-college transfers for two yews The NCAA announced the sanctions after an Investigation into allegations of violations of academic fraud ethical conduct recruiting transfer eligibility and institutional control POLICE BLOTTER: Patriot Hurt hi KoHo Play Bruce Walker a defensive lineman for the Patriots incurred a stab wound In his chest while he and a friend were throwing a steak knife at each other in a grocery store parking lot in North Attleboro Mass Police said that Walker was hurt when he missed a catch Ha was treated at a Norfolk (Mass) hospital and required several stitches police said NFL tertfl Moulds Sign Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George selected 1 4th overall in the NFL draft agreed to a fiveyear contract with the Oilers Terms of the deal were not disclosed Eric Moulds signed a -five-year contract worth $5 million with the Bills The deal for Moulds a wide receiver taken 24th overall also includes a $1 5-million signing bonus FURTHERMORE: RUs Poltlat Away ia Tsar Denmark's Bjame Riis the overall leader In this year's Tour de France pulled farther away by winning yesterday's 1 24-mile stage Riis finished 49 seconds ahead of runner-up Richard Virenque of France The NHL's Florida Panthers re-signed center Stu Bamee (1 9 goals a career-high 25 assists last season) to a multiyear contract Terms of the deal were not disclosed Steering a different type of vehicle than they were normally used to a team of Riverhead Raceway stock-car drivers nevertheless nipped the experienced Nassau County Kings 43-42 in a wheelchair basketball game at Nassau CC Proceeds from the June 30 game will go to the Kings a member of the Eastern Amputee Athletic Association stock-car drivers surprised Kings manager Jack Graff said were awkward and hesitant at first But they soon overcame fears of falling out of their chairs learned how to turn and eventually gained speed They gave us quite a game The event was a On hand to watch the action were former Knick Ernie Vandeweghe and his daughter Tauna general man- ager of the Surf Andy Peteraohn of Copiague won the MVP for the drivers scoring 15 points His team- mates were John Bingales Mickey Campbell Danny Connell Jack Handley Scott Malizewski Mike Mortimer and Steve Tooker The Kings roster included Chuck Albert Mike Dora Alan Felicetti Tony Fitzgerald Kevin Gleason Kevin Grant Doug King Ray Ott Danny Rodriguez Joe Sian in ka Dave Snowdon and Joe Szobesky The Kings are coached by Pete Cimino SwiMlNg Terry McGovern of Greenlawn won three gold medals in swimming (50-meter freestyle 50 backstroke 50 breaststroke) at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Seattle John Murabito of Long Beach earned a silver medal in archery SoftkaH The LI Chargers 14-and-under girls fast-pitch team based in Huntington won the National Softball Association tournament in East Hanover qualifying for the NSA World Series on July 31-Aug 4 in Columbus Ohio The top-seeded Chargers beat the Rockland County Stix twice 8-0 and 4-3 Jamie Pietrantoni of Levittown pitched a three-hitter in the first game and Jessica Labella drove home the winning run with a two-out double in the bottom of the seventh inning to win the second Gslf Eddie Bruckner of Dix Hills won the USGA 70-68-138 nine strokes better than the runner-up in the 79-player field Brockner advances to the 49th annual Junior Amateur Championships on July 23-27 in Flagstaff Ariz Craig Capello scored a hole-in-one with a 3-iron on the 192-yard 17th hole at Rock Hill Golf Club in Manorville to highlight the fourth annual Ryder Cup match between Nassau and Suffolk high school students Suffolk won 17V4-6V6 Ssccsr The Rockville Centre Dynamite (under-12 girls) and NorthportrCow Harbor Piranha (under-15 girls) each won Region I championships at Niagara Falls Rockville Centre which did not allow a grail in five games behind goalkeepers Meredith Wen and Meredith Finch beat Maryland in a 4-2 shootout following a scoreless tie The goals were scored by Lisa Jaffa Corry Silon Lauren Kriete and Susie Walsh North port defeated Springfield Va 2-1 in its final Kirs tin Gellatly tied tire score in the second half and Beth Arikian converted a penalty shot for the winning goal with 10 minutes to play The Rough Riders have five remaining camps this summer: at St John the Baptist High School in West I slip on July 22-26 July 29-Aug 2 and Aug 5-9 at Holy Child School in Old Westbury on Aug 5-9 and at SUNY-Old West-bury on Aug 19-22 Strikers Mike Masters and Cordt Weinstein conduct the camps with help from their teammates Call 756-4625 Lacrosse Nassau won the New York State Empire girls lacrosse tournament in Baldwinsville going 6-0 and beating second-place Hudson Valley 8-5 Karen Heafy of Freeport who scored 10 goals was named tournament MVP Teammates Sheena Oommen of New Hyde Park and Sarah LeSueur Erin Elbe and Gina Sambus of Garden City joined Healy on the all-tournament team Arena Graphics defeated Suffolk Lacrosse Club 10-4 for the Open championship of the LI Lacrosse Shootout in Greenport this weekend Tim Langton scored three goals and goalkeeper Alex Rosier had 15 saves for Arena ICC Hockey The LI Junior Islanders Select team of boys 10 and under won the Connecticut Blackhawks tournament in Bridgeport beating Hudson Valley in the final 6-0 Goalkeeper Noam Gerber allowed just five goals in five games includ- Jt! '(! COMPILED FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS I ttii i i I' ti 'ttViii ti it 1.