Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 67

Sports SECTION HIGH SCHOOLS PAGE 2 't BASKETBALL 4 HOCKEY SCOREBOARD 8 9 FOOTBALL 6 PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1997 STEELERS vs. OILERS 1 p.m., Sunday 11) mm RON COOK The hard facts Bottom-line numbers overall for the Steelers in 1997: BThe cap: Total salary cap value of Steelers salaries is $39.13 million. Ordinary Joe: The average salary for a Steelers player is $634,300. i In between: The median base salary for a Steelers player is $275,000. No.

1 Jerome Bet-tis, left, took home more of the team's money than anyone else this year $5.8 million in i bonuses and salary. Es' Jfi -r-v QS HI I 1 Lml-t Peter DianaPost-Gazette 3 in rRflfPfp IMF flnfrlrfr Instant fame burdens Henry Kevin Henry politely, if a bit sheepishly, asked for details of the Immaculate Reception, then listened intently to the incredible story. He had seen the replay a few times over the years, but he wasn't quite sure about the play's significance. He was 4 when Franco Harris made the most famous catch in NFL history. "Now they're calling my play the Immaculate Interception?" Henry asked, his eyes widening.

"Wow! That blows my mind. It's a little scary, too. I've never been involved in something this big." Henry's life changed forever the instant he intercepted Drew Bledsoe's swing pass early Saturday evening. He went from being a relatively obscure defensive end with the often mispronounced first name everybody knows it's "KEE-vin" now to a Steelers hero in their come-from-behind, 24-21 overtime victory against the New England Patriots. Henry couldn't believe his newfound celebrity when he visited a few local clubs later Saturday night.

When he awoke Sunday, he found dozens of messages on his pager "from people I hadn't heard from in years, all the way back to high school." At dinner Sunday night at a Pittsburgh steakhouse with the other Steelers defensive linemen, everyone wanted to shake his hand and thank him not just for helping to beat the Patriots but also for giving the team a real chance of making it to the Super Bowl. Monday morning, Henry had to get away. "I went to Atlanta for a few days. I never saw the play on television. I don't want to see it.

I don't want to talk about it anymore. Don't get me wrong. It means a lot to me. But you've got to be able to handle your success and keep it in perspective. We've got some big games coming up.

That's why I want to forget about the interception." Yeah, right. "I can't even get away from it in here," Henry said, looking around the locker room. "They've been on me about Bledsoe catching up to me, telling me that I need oxygen if I'm going to run that far "Nice, soft hands you got there," Mike Tomczak said, interrupting Henry. "Yeah, tell him you want to play tight end now," Yancey Thigpen said, continuing the needling. Henry grinned.

"It's true, I told Coach Bill Cowher I'd like to go both ways now." SEE COOK, PAGE D-6 salary Steelers' average Olsavsky only pi ayer to take a cut if SI Fun with numbers Bus fare: Jerome Bettis has re- ceived $900.90 for each yard gained, based on a base salary of $1.5 million, A bargain: With a base salary of $250,000, the 32 TDs Kordell Stewart has accounted for are worth a mere $7,812.50 apiece. A bargain II: The Steelers have received Yancey Thig-pen's AFC-best 1,314 receiving yards for a mere $669.71 a yard, based on a base salary of $880,000. Worth every penny: No matter what else he does, Kevin Henry's $350,000 base salary can't begin to pay for the season-turning interception last Saturday, their players' contracts as long as they were under contract. Olsavsky was a starting inside linebacker who lost his job to Earl Holmes this season. He agreed to the reduction because the Steelers were strapped for salary cap room.

Because of injuries at wide receiver, they needed room to sign Curtis Marsh, a free-agent wide receiver. They paid him $103,800 for his nine games. Among other items gleaned from the annual salary report compiled by the players' union: The average player's salary on the team was $634,300. The Steelers paid $13,257,500 in signing bonuses in 1997. Jerome Bettis, not surprisingly, hauled in more money than any Steelers player this season at $5.8 million.

That included a $4 million signing bonus, a $1.5 million salary, a $200,000 reporting bonus and, most likely, $100,000 in incentives. Linebacker Greg Lloyd, and not Bettis, had the team's highest salary cap value at $3,475 million. Bettis' was $2.8 million. By Ed Bouchette Posl-Gazette Sports Writer The Steelers quietly set a precedent this fall when they cut the salary of linebacker Jerry Olsavksy, the first time they have renegotiated a player's contract downward. That came to light when the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette obtained the confidential 1997 NFL Players Association Information Report distributed to the Steelers this week.

The Steelers had reported 01-savsky's deal as a contract extension. Under his old deal, Olsavsky was scheduled to make $500,000 in salary this season and another $500,000 in 1998. They ripped that up, however, and lowered his salary to $196,000 this season plus a $161,000 signing bnous a total of $357,000. He is scheduled to make $275,000 next season, and the team tacked on another $300,000 for 1999. Because of special circumstances surrounding Olsavsky's new deal, it may not open the door to others.

The Steelers were one of the few NFL teams that steadfastly refused to lower -wwffli nil iwliii'r'tfiliii Robin RombachPost-Gazette A bargain for now. SEE SALARIES, PAGE D-6 Kordell Stewart: PITT 65, NAVY 63 ins' Lang finds Pengiii Greer's 23 points sink Navy life on defensive side THE SCORE INSIDE Plucking a plum Plum lineman Joe Mangan-ello commits to Pitt. Page D-7. HOCKEY NHL Panthers 4 Capitals 0 Senators 3 Hurricanes 2 Bruins 2 Flyers 2 Devils 4 Blues 4 Stars 2 Flames 1 Canucks 0 Sharks 0 Kings 5 Maple Leafs 2 BASKETBALL NBA Jazz 85 Magic 73 Suns 89 Mavericks 75 Sonics119 Nuggets 106 Clippers 82 Warriors 78 College men PITT 65 Navy 63 Kansas 96 Pepperdine 83 Syracuse 82 Buffalo 70 Arkansas 61 Centenary 48 UCLA 90 N.Arizona 68 College women N.Carolina 82 UCLA 78 Wis. 84 Manhattan 71 Georgia 94 C.Mich.

73 Alabama 74 Elon 49 Taylor back in lineup as Pitt climbs to 3-3 By Gerry Dulac Post-Gazette Sports Writer This was supposed to be the portion of the schedule in which Pitt would fatten its record. St. Bona-venture, Notre Dame and Navy, all in a row, all at home. Teams not likely to cause much indigestion. Instead, the Panthers are starting to have that bloated feeling, even though they were able to squeeze out a 65-63 victory last night against Navy and avoided their third consecutive defeat at Fitzgerald Field House.

"We're a young team and you lose a couple close games, the confidence becomes a very fragile thing," Coach Ralph Willard said. "Getting a win here is going to help us." Speaking of help, Pitt got it from one of its youngest players freshman Ricardo Greer, who had a career-high 23 points that included SEE PITT, PAGE D-4 By Dave Molinari Post-Gazette Sports Writer DENVER When Robert Lang played in Los Angeles, the book on him was about as flattering as a Kitty Kelly biography. The prevailing wisdom in hockey circles held that Lang, while highly talented, was inconsistent on some nights, invisible on others. That his intensity was suspect, and that he had zero tolerance for the grinding nature of many NHL games. Mind you, not everything was negative.

Lang was, for example, recognized as being really, really good at underachieving. Penguins Coach Kevin Constantine had heard all the talk about Lang likely believed at least some but had no trouble ignoring it when the Penguins had an opportunity to sign him during the off-season. Mostly because, whatever failings Lang might have had, Constantine realized he could help at a position where the Penguins needed someone anyone to come up big. It seems that after penciling in Ron Francis as the Penguins' No. 1 center, Constantine looked a little farther down his depth chart.

And while the list of candidates to work behind Francis wasn't particularly short, most of the men on it were. SEE PENGUINS, PAGE D-8 THE WEEKEND "i TODAY Avalanche: 9 p.m.r Fox Sports Pittsburgh. Record: scored 1 07 goals. TOMORROW -r Blues: 8:30 p.m.,- Fox Sports Pittsburgh. Record: 20-12-3.

Brett Hull among leaders with 16 goals, 17 assists. I -U-. V- 1 Darrell SappPost-Gazette Pitt's Attila Cosby, right, and Isaac Hawkins battle Navy's Hassan Booker for a rebound last night in the Panthers' 65-63 victory..