The Buffalo News from Buffalo, New York • 14

Page 2 Sports Saturday The Buffalo NewsSaturday August 19 1989 The Happy pJHandicapper lb oberummers Bionic binoculars find a few favorites for future ort profits INVIGORATED AND ENRICHED (he hit a $137 daily double by boxing his house number) by his vacation pilgrimage to Sara toga Springs the Happy Handicapper returned flQjn his sojourn to the spa with new horse picking verve rWith his brain refreshed by the Adirondack air he batted 289 in his published ort Erie selections last week posted three of four win m'ng days and kept his bionic binoculars pol ished to a shine as he tried to spot future win ners out there on the picturesque border oval JSome horseplayers like to keep their horses to watch lists to themselves content to rake in the dough in quiet solitude nnBut the HH is not like that He knows that even better than the money is the thrill that comes when you can turn to your friends and say you have that horse? I believe it! It was in the paper How could have missed With that in mind be sure not to miss these beauties all of which showed their stuff last at the ort last Sunday Monday and Tuesday Albia: He got banged around at the start and went into the first tum in last place But wfien Mike Dunlop got him back into stride he made a bold swooping move on the second turn and just missed catching Nobelaric and Quite Personable too good to be a maid long Always A Gentleman: Dan con sistent 6 year old attracted some betting inter est in his second lifetime start on the grass and ram a nice race to be third to accomplished fdHsters Trunk Show and World Aurora Problem is that he might have to wait a while for his next turf start Because the dry weather has turned the greensward to browns wSt management has canceled grass racing fbT at least a week so they can water the track extensively and get it into better shape for the Atrg 27 Ontario Colleen Stakes This will also jesult in switching some turf races to dirt in cluding next I'i mile Summer Turf Series handicap 2 Be Boys: Showed a sparkling turn of unusual early speed before packing it in and fnishing eighth in $3200 claiming company for non winners of two races this year Could Be tough if dropped a notch in class CXwssy lero: The eagle eyes on Jhe tote board saw that somebody bet $50 to win on this long shot when the windows Opened Tuesday Whoever it was got a real run for the money The horse eventually went off St 58 1 but came on strong under Gilbert Jearchwell and was right there in a four horse pKpto He finished fourth but was a nose and XWeck from being second 2 Cote Dion Looked like a front running winner under Searchwell until she clipped the jjil and stumbled near the eighth pole Dome Stadium: Jockey Hugo Dittfach who needs 1 5 victories to reach his retirement goal of 4000 wins might get them all on this Jyce gelding He won his last race so easily it even look like he was running hard 2J Dome Stadium has now won three in a row "and looks to get into the starter allowance jjaces with feathery weights for the next couple jjf months 3 is ort Chimo: inished well under Steve to be third to Prior Hill and Le Nor mals in opener 2 Little Pudgy: not the greatest 3 3par old filly in the world but she has been jfnproving And how she got that awful name Ts a mystery She got the worst of it Tuesday 3Jhen she bobbled at the start and almost jjirew Stuart Brown With better luck next Jjme she might be ready to graduate from the maiden ranks My Irish Girl: always a good sign tosee an animal horses" or run between Others while advancing This 3 year old fillydid just that under Maree Richards while los ing by a head Sunday Part Time Monarch: Think of the oppo site of in and de scribed this 3 year old gelding who runs like got a windmill for a left front leg He runsfast enough to win at the $3200 and $2500 levels where he probably can win forever be cause nobody would be interested taking a Ichance by claiming him Shesa Somebody: Loomed boldly on the routside before finishing sixth in the Ontario Debutante Stakes The 2 year old filly has made only two starts She caught a sloppy track in her debut against $32000 maidens land obviously was over placed in stakes com pany at this point in her career romp ina maiden race Speaking of stakes it be nice if the JOntario Jockey Club sent the Bison City back to ort Erie from Woodbine I where it was run last Sunday If any race be longs at the border oval the Bison City Tultas Gift: Maybe the lesson from this 3 year old win Monday is to keep an eye Zon her trainer Raymond Millar The man I knows his way around a condition book On 3 Aug 8 Tultas Gift showed early speed andtired in a race for $2500 ciaimers who hadn't won twice in 1 989 Six days later he shrewdly put her in against $3200 fillies who won at all this I year She won by eight lengths As program handicapper Jim Bannon put it isactual ly stepping down in class while increasing slightly in price" Raymond Millar Remember ijhat name Power play may shift Sabre road games to Ch 29 THE BUALO SABRES are in volved in a power play with leg endary producer Norman Lear that could result in the National Hock ey League club getting out of the TV business and switching road game cov erage from Channel 49 to Channel 29 Sources close to the situation say purchase of WUTV (Ch 29) has been temporarily delayed while his group Act III Broadcasting attempts to hammer out an agreement with the Sabres who own WNYB TV (Ch 49) One scenario has Act III negotiating a lucrative multiyear television deal with the Sabres to carry many of their road games on Channel 29 In return the Sabres would agree to transfer or sell the license of WNYB to a religious broadcaster so group have a strong independent competitor in the market group previously worked out a similar arrangement in Richmond Va which also had two competing in dependent stations until Act III entered the market A trade publication Electronic Me dia recently speculated that Act III will be paying about $32 million for WUTV which is more than double the price Phil Lombardo paid only five years ago Others have speculated that the price may be as high as $40 million The Sabres paid about $58 million for license and have lost money since putting it on the air last year Presumably the proposed deal would help the club recover some of that money as well If the Sabres and group suc ceed in making a deal Buffalo will effectively lose an outlet for a variety of syndicated shows that been ear ned here before birth But it has been generally accepted that the Buffalo market may only be able to support one profitable independent sta tion Sports On the Air By A IAN PERGAMENT WUTV has had the advantage of being on Canadian cable where it earns much of its revenue WNYB has had difficulty getting on Canadian systems WNYB is scheduled to switch with Channel 29 as the local ox Broadcast ing Network affiliate on Sept 1 but this proposed deal obviously may affect ox sometime this season Lear of course made his fame and fortune as the creator and producer of in the and and Son" After lengthy negotiations Channel 2 has officially sacked Jim Kelly WGRZ TV General Manager Tom Hartman confirmed that the deal with the Buffalo Bills quarterback went sour He added that Kelly is free to deal with other stations in town can go wherever he said Hartman couldn't make a deal and all I have to Previously Channel 2 station man ager David Molldrem said the position was that Kelly could either make a deal with WGRZ or sit out the season Kelly was making about $3500 a show The Monday night show had healthy ratings but failed to make a profit over the last two seasons Sandy DiPasquale the station's pre vious general manager was comfort able with that arrangement because the association with Kelly was a good one for the image Hartman the new GM under a new owner Tak Communications apparently has a dif ferent philosophy Ed Kilgore Channel sports direc tor and host of the show said he disappointed but not surprised" first I expect it (continu ing the show) then I thought we would be able to work it said Kilgore He think the cancel lation will affect his relationship with the quarterback but he did have a problem this week asked him if I could have a min ute for an interview and he breezed right said Kilgore upset with everybody at Channel 2 I certainly didn't have anything to do with it (the show was fun to do and Jim and I had a good time doing it added Kilgore show feel like work so miss Bills fans may miss it too Channel 4 previously tried to make a deal with Kelly but was unable to find a place on the schedule for his show Channel 7 carries two popular game shows of and from 7 pm to 8 pm weekdays the most appropriate time slot for the Kelly show The Bills announced that OJ Simp number be retired this sea son after all Although spokespersons for ABC Simpson and the Bills previously said there were discussions about holding the ceremonies during a Monday Night ootball Game the Bills now say there never were any definite plans to hold a ceremony That has prompted speculation that new employer NBC was unhap Kthat the ceremony would be carried a rival network Kevin Monaghan a spokesman for NBC Sports said: is the network that televises the Buffalo Bills been with the Bills a long time and since OJ works for us we thought it only fair that jersey be retired in an NBC game (NBC Sports execu tive producer) and Dick Ebersol (NBC Sports president) felt very strongly due to affiliation with the Bills and our present affiliation with OJ Simpson like to have this on A spokesperson for Simpson said both ABC and NBC had expressed an interest in covering such an event but added the Bills had not contacted her about it The Bills say the ceremony was never officially planned for the coming season but will be under con sideration in planning for future sea sons Channel 2 carrying tape delayed coverage Sunday of the Pocono 500 in Long Pond Pa which is certain to anger area racing fans The Pocono is being aired within SportsWorld which WGRZ regularly declines to car ry Eric Schoenfeld 37 a 1973 graduate' of the State University of Buffalo whose broadcast roots were developed at Channel 2 Channel 7 and WBO has been named studio coordinat ing producer of 1990 major league baseball telecasts Weekend Things to Do Saints marchin' in Perhaps what the Buffalo Bills need is some good home served up by some victory starved fans at Rich Stadium That scenario will likely be on the menu tonight when the New Orleans Saints (0 1) pay the first of two 1989 visits Kickoff is 7:30 The Bills off on a losing note on foreign ground in preseason get a chance to get back on track on more friendlier turf The Bills lost two weeks ago to Washington in Canton Ohio 31 6 and last week dropped a 24 20 decision to the Bengals in Cincinnati The Saints also stumbled in their first preseason game last Saturday when they lost at home to Indianapolis 31 7 The Bills and Saints have split in four previous preseason games the last one a 20 17 Saints victory in 1977 The Saints will make a return trip here in a regular season game on Dec 10 Bisons last stand not over until over but Today at 2:05 pm the Buffalo Bi sons conclude their season series with the Indianapolis Indians at Pilot ield The Syracuse Chiefs are here Sunday in a rare 7:05 pm start The Bisons virtually had to sweep the four game series to have had any chance to win the American Associa tion East Division title but that dream seems to have evaporated On the sunny side the team drew more than a million fans for the second year in a row and they battled to nearly the end using makeshift lineups due to major league call ups and injuries This is the final homestand for the Herd which winds up with a night game Monday against the Chiefs and night games Tuesday and Wednesday against Louisville (all on Channel 49) Happy handicapping! More than 1 80 fans who have quali fied will compete in semifinal round of the 1989 Ontario Handicap ping Championship at the ort Erie Race Track ive will win the right to participate in the final round a week later going against professional selec tors and members of the media The winner will receive 1000 plus an all expenses paid trip to Penn Na tional in October for the World Series of Handicapping The Stakes third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown will be run Sunday at Woodbine Race Track (Ch 5) and simulcast at ort Erie at approximately 4:30 pm A vic tory for With Approval earns the horse a $1 million bonus Associated Press Dalton Hilliard (21) and the New Orleans Saints come marching into Rich Stadium at 7:30 tonight to take on the Buffalo Bills vMIr 1 He 1 A 'uX 'gTttrdt a If inger Lakes Race Track is your (feed)bag then you may enjoy the fea tured Cornell Cup a $40000 added race for fillies and mares 3 years old and up Cycle action ans who like their racing action on two wheels will want to be at the Erie County airgrounds at 7:30 this even ing for two divisions of motorcycle races The 600 National and the Junior National are the two divisions on the program Top riders reach almost 100 miles an hour on the straightaways and aver age lap speeds will be in the 90 95 mph range Three local riders Les Washbon of Lockport Steve Marth of Albion and David Wass of Holley will be in the 600 National Things to View Shift to NL East Television shifts its focus this week end from the tightening American League East pennant race to the equal ly engrossing National League East chase Surprisingly only one AL East game will be shown this weekend but three important NL East games have found their way to the tube The New York Mets host the Los Angeles Dodgers today at 2:15 pm (Ch 2) and Sunday at 1:30 (WWOR) while San Diego visits the Expos in Montreal tonight at 7:30 (Ch 9) The Mets and Expos are neck and neck in their battle for second place just a few games behind the leading Chicago Cubs Tonight at 7:30 AN 3 and WPIX will show the New York Yankees Ti gers game in Detroit In other baseball the Pittsburgh Pi rates face the Braves in Atlanta tonight at 7:05 and Sunday at 2:05 (TBS) Worth a million Easy Goer will be an overwhelming favorite today when he goes up against five other horses in the $1 million Travers for 3 year olds at Saratoga Television coverage of the race will be part of Wide World of Sports beginning at 4:30 pm (Ch 7) Easy Goer winner of tne Belmont Stakes and most recently the Whitney at Sara toga will start from the No 5 post position under his regular rider Pat Day With six horses going the value of the I'A mile race will be $1088500 with $653100 going to the winner Post time is 5:43 pm Net gains Area tennis fans have a choice in tournaments to watch this weekend Semifinals and finals matches at the Canadian Open in Montreal may be seen (Ch 9 ESPN) today at 1 pm and Sunday at 2 while USA will televise the semifinals and finals at the ATP Championships in Cincinnati at 7:30 this evening and 1 pm Sunday Preseason pairings Rabid pro football fans may enjoy another weekend of no count watching starting off with the Denver Broncos at San rancisco 49ers tonight at 9 (Ch 4) The New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles meet in Raleigh NC (ESPN) and the New York Giants visit the Kansas City Chiefs (WPIX) both Sun day night at 8 The Washington Red skins and Minnesota Vikings will play Monday (8 pm Ch 7) Best of the rest The third and final rounds of the International Golf Tournament from Castle Rock Colo will be shown to day at 4 and tomorrow at 3 (Ch 4) ESPN will televise the NASCAR Champion Spark Plug 400 auto race from Brooklyn Mich at noon Per nell Whitaker defends his WBC light weight title against Jose Luis Ramirez in a bout scheduled for 12 rounds in Norfolk Va (3:30 pm Ch 7) LOWELL KELLER TV Times TODAY 1 PM I tSPN I Tennis: Canadian Open Men's Single Semifinals rom Jarry Stadium in Montreal 2:15 PM 0 Baseball: Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets 4 PM Golf: The International Third Round rom Castle Pines Golf Club Castle Rock Colo Challengers to Joey Sindelar's title include Jack Nicklaus Ben Crenshaw Greg Norman lee Trevino and Tom Watson 5 PM BfED Baseball: little League East Region Championship rom Bristol Conn 7:05 PM TBS I Baseball: Pittsburgh Pi rates at Atlanta Braves 7:30 PM CD Baseball: Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles 7:30 PM I USA I Tennis: ATP Champion ship Men's Singles Semifinals rom Cincin nati 7:30 PM (wEXl ntHU Baseball: New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers 9 PM NL Preseason ootball: Denver Broncos at San rancisco 49ers Quarterback John Elway leads the Broncos (8 8 in '88) into Candlestick Park to take on running back Roger Craig and the defending Super Bowl champion 49ers (10 6) SUNDAY Noon I tPNi Auto Racing: NASCAR Champion Spark Plug 400 rom the Michi gan International Speedway in Brooklyn 1 PM I USA I Tennis: ATP Championship Men's Singles inals rom Cincinnati 1:30 PM I WQBJ Baseball: Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets Toronto 8 PM QSESJ NL Preseason ootball: New York Jets vs Philadelphia Eagles rom Ra leigh NC Wide receiver Al Toon leads the Jets (8 7 1 in '88) against quarterback Ran dall Cunningham and the defending NC East champion Eagles (10 6) 8 PM I WPIX I NL Preseason ootball: New York Giants at Kansas City Chiefs MONDAY 7 PM CD Minor League Baseball: Syracuse Chiefs at Buffalo Bisons 8 PM NL Preseason ootball: Wash ington Redskins at Minnesota Vikings Quar terback Mark Rypien leads the Redskins (7 9 in '88) into the Metrodomo to take on wide receiver Anthony Carter and the NC rival Viking (11 5) 2 PM CD Tennis: Canadian Open Men's Singles inal rom Jarry Stadium in Montre al 2:05 PM (1653 Baseball: Pittsburgh Pi rates at Atlanta Braves 3 PM Golf: The International inal Round rom Castle Pines Golf Club Castle Rock Colo The top 24 point scorers from the third round advance to today's final Past winners include Joey Sindelar ('88) John Cook ('87) and Ken Green ('86) 3:30 PM Boxing: WBC Lightweight Championship: Pernell Whitaker vs Jose Luis Ramirez rom Norfolk Va IB champion Whitaker (18 1 11 KOs) takes on Ramirez (102 7 82 KOs) 12 rounds for the vacant WBC title 4:30 PM CD Sportsweekend: Horse racing Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack in Things to Do Things to View.