Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 46

2 Section 4 Chicaoo Tribune, Wednesday, April 27, 19B8 SPORTSPEOPLE trJZ" Jt -r-l mr n. 'I a rtnti Oakland hitters Bash their way into spotlight When an Oakland Athletics hitter hits a home run, you won't see handshakes or high fives. The preferred mode of congratulations now consists of two players bashing their upraised forearms against each other, a motion known as "the Bash." "It's just a thing we do to be different and have fun," says Mark McGwire. "Everybody does high fives. We have a pretty good-sized team, and we get a pretty good forearm workout." The Bash is a natural for what could pass for an offensive line: McGwire is 6 feet 5 inches and weighs 225 pounds, Dave Parker is 6-5 and 230, Jose Canseco is 6-3 and 230, Dave Henderson is 6-2 and 220, and Don Baylor is 6-1 and 210.

"You've gotta be careful when you've got one of those big guys coming around the bases after hitting one out, says Terry Steinbach, 6-1 and 195. "If you're the next guy up, you better brace yourself." The Bash has been a boon for Oakland's marketing department. In a mere fortnight, the A's and a local TV station turned the Bash into the Monster Bash, a song complete with its own music video. It's a remake of Bobby Pickett's 1962 hit, "Monster Mash," with adapted lyrics and film clips of i UPi pooto Dave Parker and Jose Canseco do "the Bash" the latest rage in Oakland-following a two-run homer by Canseco earlier this season. Knight puts his sneaker in his mouth Indiana coach Bob Knight is in hot water for making an analogy between handling stress and being raped, which he expressed during a documentary on NBC Monday night.

Asked by NBC News correspondent Connie Chung how he handled stress, Knight said, "I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it." Then, apparently realizing what he had said might be offensive, Knight went on: "That's just an old term that you're going to use. The plane's down, so you have no control over it. I'm not talking about that, about the act of rape. Don't misinterpret me there. But what I'm talking about is, something happens to you, so you have to handle it now." University President Thomas Ehrlich said Tuesday: "Coach Knight was not speaking for the university.

His reference to rape and his coarse language were in very poor taste. Period. That's all I really want to say." Ehrlich said that he had not scheduled a meeting with Knight, but would not say whether he planned to schedule one. Knight was unavailable for comment. The dean for women's affairs, Phyllis Klotman, could not be reached, but her office had received 12 to IS phone calls on the matter.

"People who don't normally pay attention to sexist remarks are astounded," said Trisha Bracken, assistant to Klotman. "It's something you expect your grandfather to say. That a man with Coach Knight's education would say that is shocking." By Linda Kay Mike Conklin The Bears are confident that offensive lineman Caesar Rentie, a reserve at Oklahoma, has the right stuff to become a starter in the National Football League. You have to feel he has already overcome some obstacles, considering both his parents are deaf-mutes. Rentie's background is similar to that of 1970 Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett, who quarter-backed the Raiders to two Super Bowl championships.

Plunkett's parents were blind. Sjthe Scouts Notebook the guide used by many NFL insiders to research the latest crop of eligible players in the just-'? concluded draft. The book, which rated more than athletes, was written by Joel Buchsbaum and published by Chicago-based Pro Football Weekly. Hub Arkush is the editor of the annual report. Although reading the reports on the players is a lot like a chemistry book, the editors did manage to slip in some good fines.

Here's what they said in their of Bear draftee Joel Porter of Baylor: "Great kid with a delightful sense of humor who may that sense of humor after he reads this report." "Just call him Ziz Tl When Kansas City made a wide receiver from Maryland its choice the ninth round, Chiefs play- by-play man Kevin Harlan and Hall of Fame Len Dawson, who do the Chiefs games for KCMO radio, immediately looked at each other. Then, they sighed. The Maryland player is Azizuddin Abdur-RaW. Said Harlan: "The thing is, the Chiefs need help at wide receiver and he's got a real shot at sticking. It's going to be like trying to get through a replacement game.

I know some ofthe local TV guys have really struggled in the last few days. It's just too bad he isn't an offensive lineman. By the time we get 'through pronouncing his name, the play probably will be over. Harlan said he's going to call an old friend, T' Maryland announcer Johnny Holiday, for help. If all rl else fails, Kevin said he'll be on the lookout for a 'suitable nickname.

Is this his toughest challenge? "Not 'really," he said. "One year when I was doing the Kan-''f'-sas City Kings in the NBA, we had a game with the Lakers with five guys named Johnson on the floor at same time." Oakland A'sYou too can do the latest ballpark crazeWhen the A's big bats really come aliveDon't waste time with the boring high five." "This is pure fun and a little bit zany," Dolich said. "I hope we don't have pediatricians writing to the New York Times saying that youngsters over the age of 4 who bash their elbows will have problems by the time they reach their teens." Bash after Bash. The song has clawed its way onto the playlists of almost a dozen stations. "How long this Monster Bash goes on rests on the elbows of these players and how many balls end up on the other side of the fence," said Andy Dol-ich, the A's vice president of business operations.

Home runs, yes. High fives, no. As the song advises: "If you're a fan of the NASCAR official may curb Kyle Petty over alleged reckless driving down behind pit road and ran into Neil Bonnett's car, and then backed up and ran into it again. "And when a person has a mental attitude like that, he has no business being in a Winston Cup race. He will be fined Petty told the Winston-Salem Journal he "never got mad.

I just got a little disgusted with NASCAR. When asked if he tried to hit the NASCAR inspectors, he said: "They ought to know I'm a better driver than that If I'd have tried to hit him, I'd have hit him." allegedly tried to push Bonnett's car out of the way, sending spectators scrambling. After Beaty blackflagged Petty to the pits to discuss the incident, Petty stopped briefly, then roared away, swerving twice toward NASCAR inspectors standing on pit row. Beaty immediately blackflagged Petty again, ordering him to a penalty area behind the pits for a short time. "I felt he had lost control of himself, so I parked him," said Beaty, who will consider further actions against Petty after Wednesday's meeting.

"First, he came NASCAR driver Kyle Petty will get to tell it to the judge Wednesday in this case, Winston Cup director Dick Beaty. Petty faces a possible penalty following an incident in which he allegedly swerved his car in the direction of inspectors during last Sunday's race in Martinsville, Va. According to Beaty, Petty drove through the crowded garage area and back toward the track after lengthy repairs at last weekend's Pannill 500. As he was attempting to return, he found his way blocked by Neil Bonnett's idled car. Petty Bonus plan tZ Need tickets for a Cub game? Simple.

Just sign a 12-month lease to rent an apartment from Chicago's Lakeside Management. The realty company is located on the edge of Wrigleyville, where most of its units ftyare within walking distance of the ballpark. Lakeside was offering a bonus of 25 Cub tickets to any person signed a one-year lease in the early days of the season. The firm's Colette Healy said the idea was so '4opular that it has been extended. Said Healy: "The "competition is rough in the rental market.

We wanted to do something that was a little different. We got a Jot of calls." You don't even have to take a stand on the area's red-hot lights issue. Added Healy: "Actually, I'm for lights. I used to wear a pro-light button to the games when it wasn't very popular." m. Jim Bouton Martin Mull play 'X; WBBM will become the new Chicago radio outlet ilifor Notre Dame football this fall, starting with the Somehow, 'Killer Lamb just doesn't sound right Former Illinois State University basketball star Rick Lamb is ready to trade his dreams of playing in the NBA for a shot at Hulk Hogan or Andre the Giant "If I can get a good wrestling contract, I'm through with basketball," Lamb says.

"I didn't get the opportunity to play in the NBA, and you can only go with it so long. It's time to move on. Naturally, the next step is pro wrestling. "People have approached me, and there's been some really good money offered," Lamb says. "I think it would be exciting and a lot of fun." Lamb's ring debut has been delayed by a torn calf muscle that helped derail his basketball career.

He started the basketball season with the Pcnsacola (Fla.) Tornadoes of the Continental Basketball Association but was sidelined for the year by that injury and a torn abdominal muscle. Lamb also said his recent enthusiasm for wcightlifting probably has made him too muscular for basketball. "I've been lifting six days a week for the last year and a half, and I've really fallen in love with it," the 6-foot-7-inch Lamb says. "My weight is up to 300 pounds, but that's deceiving. My percentage of body fat is low, around 8'A to 9 percent" What type of wrestler would Lamb be? "I'd definitely be a good guy," he says.

"I won't be one of those jerks." s-Sept. 10 opener against Michigan. The Fighting Irish had been on WLUP-AM. Tony Roberts and Tom will be the announcers for the Mutual broadcasts. Playing through Plus, players can spit easier Baseball versus football.

It's no contest, according to comedian Martin Mull and former big-league pitcher Jim Bouton. In the spring issue of Philip Morris Magazine, the two tell why they prefer baseball. Mull's reasons include: "The jockstraps don't show through the and "John Madden doesn't draw on your TV set," and "I'll never have to go to Indianapolis." Bouton, the former Yankee and author of "Ball Four," also has sound reasons why baseball is far superior. For example: "Baseball players are smarter than football players. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for having too many players on the field?" And, "Baseball is played by normal human beings.

You don't have to weigh 270 pounds or bench-press the team bus." BRIEFS Gary Colson resigned Tuesday as basketball coach at New Mexico, ending an eight-year tenure during which he guided the program back to respectability from one of college's major scandals. In a prepared statement, Colson, who posted a 146-106 mark and five straight National Invitation Tournament appearances, cited "a basic difference of opinion regarding his ability to lead the UNM basketball program to the next level of success." No successor was named. Idaho officials said basketball coach Tim Floyd has accepted the coaching job at New Orleans and Idaho assistant Kermit Davis Jr. was named to take Floyd's place. Floyd, 34, had withdrawn his name from consideration for the New Orleans post Friday.

Idaho President Richard Gibb said New Orleans agreed to pay Idaho $25,000 for the remaining year of Floyd's contract. Tom Nissalke, the third and last finalist, withdrew his name from consideration because of business and personal involvement in Salt Lake City. The New Orleans job became open when UNO fired Art Tolis last month. fl Virginia Tech basketball coach Frankie Allen pleaded guilty in Salem, to driving under the influence of alcohol and received a suspended sentence attorneys called typical for a first offender. fl Discussions have begun over the possibility of NBC allowing Turner Broadcasting System to telecast 60 hours of the 1988 Summer Olympics from Seoul.

If the deal is completed, TBS probably would focus on lengthy events, such as soccer and baseball, sandwiching them between NBC's broadcasts. NBC has paid $300 million for exclusive rights to telecast the games from Sept. 17 to Oct. 2, and is free to sell air time to other outlets. A plan to use two rings for the Olympic boxing tournament in Seoul could land a knockout punch on some telvision coverage of the sport for a large part of the world.

Broadcasters are upset with the proposal by the International Amateur Boxing Association to split the first week of bouts between two rings. The association's secretary general, Karl Heinz Wehr of East Germany, said a final decision on whether to stay with the traditional single ring or go to two will be made next month, when officials should know how many boxers will be entered. Dan Croft, who was involved in a one-car accident in the Trans-Am race at Long Beach, and had been in critical condition and unconscious with a severe head injury since the April 16 race, died early Tuesday. Croft, 47, of Seal Beach, was participating at Long Beach for the first time. His death is the first fatality in 14 years of professional racing at the downtown city circuit.

World Boxing Association junior lightweight champion Brian Mitchell of South Africa retained his title with a split decision over top-ranked challenger Jose Rivera of Puerto Rico in a 12-round bout in Madrid. Willie deWit's recent decision to retire from boxing has cost the Canadian heavyweight champion a lucrative shot at the world title, said Steve Lott, an assistant manager for champion Mike Tyson. "Had he gotten into the top 10 in six or seven months, we would have been through everyone else," Lott said. "He would have been next." Bulgarian Sevdalin Marinov set a world record in the 1 15-pound category for the snatch Tuesday, the first day of the European Wcightlifting Championships in Cardiff, Wales. Marinov, the reigning world champion, lifted 118.5 kilograms (261 pounds), one kilogram more than the previous record held by He Zhuoqiang of China.

Chuck Vaughn, president of the Du Page County Forest Preserve District, gets a big hat tip from the Chicago District Golf Association in its Score Card 'newsletter. The CDGA credits Vaughn as the driving f'Jorce in saving Elmhurst Country Club from land The CDGA points out how he turned the iclub, subsequently renamed Oak Meadows Golf 'Course, into a thriving facility. Vaughn is applying those same energies to saving adjacent Brookwood Country Club, which is also is coveted by developers. We're told he wants to incorporate the two facilities a 27- or 36-hole layout, but there's no timetable "'at this point. In his spare time, Vaughn scouts for the Cincinnati Reds.

News, notes and nonsense The list of celebrity auctioneers for Little City's an-nual Sports Auction-Dinner May 7 in the Hyatt Re- -Agency Chicago has grown to include Steve Stone, Denis Savard, Keith Van Home, Jack Brlckhouse and Keith Magnuson. Their jobs should be easy. Recent additions to the gift list include: A five-foot gas- mini-Indy racing car, a week's trip to a Swiss ski chalet: Mike Tyson's autographed boxing gloves; SuperSonics are up for the playoffs 1 I James Worthy's Laker warmup jacket; a putter signed to the question of altitude, it actually might help because Colorado Springs is actually 1,000 feet higher than Denver." But if Bickcrstaff thinks coming early can't hurt, he might be mistaken. So says Marvin Clein, the Nuggets' strength and conditioning director. "It's not a good move," Clcin says.

"I'd tell them to come as close to game time as possible. Most of the research on altitude and how it influences performance came out of the 1 19681 Mexico City Olympics. "The findings were, you either come in long enough in advance where you can acclimate, or you come in almost at the last minute. "If they're coming in from sea level, I don't think three days is adequate to make that adjustment" Everybody talks about the altitude in Denver, but Seattle SuperSonics coach Bernie Bickcrstaff is doing something about it. The Sonics flew to Colorado Tuesday for the playoff series with the Denver Nuggets that begins Friday night.

They planned to practice Tuesday night, Wednesday and Thursday at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs before busing to Denver Friday morning. Bickcrstaff, who had bottled oxygen on the sideline when his team visited the Mile High City last week, wanted his team to come in more than 72 hours before tipoff because he thinks it could help the Sonics cope with the altitude. "When you get to the playoffs, you dont leave any stone unturned," Bickcrstaff says. "It's certainly not going to hurt, and if there's anything by lorn Watson; ana a cnance to tnrow out ine nrsi ball at a Cubs game. Officials at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield (Mass.) say Kentucky and Duke will play in next season's Tip-Off Classic.

A team of former Chicago pro athletes, including Jim Grabowskl, Les Frazier and Reggie Fleming, will play a team of media all-stars Saturday night in a benefit basketball game at Holy Cross High School in River Grove. The game will be preceded by a baseball card trade show. Registration starts Monday in the Burnham Harbor Fleet Boathouse for the Chicago Park District's Icarn-to-sail program. Classes will begin June 5. The only prerequisites are that candidates can swim SO yards and tread water for 3 minutes.

Finally: If any contestants in next fall's Miss America Contest can ice-skate, they'll score a lot of points with one person. U.S. figure skater Brian Boitano, who won a gold at this year's Winter Olympics, has signed as a judge. It hasn't been a roller-coaster, it's been mrfjitain climbing and avalanche. One day we're touching gold, the next day cow Dallas Mavericks owner Donald Carter, whose team went 7-6 April and feD from first place to second in the Midwest Division Compiled by Bill Hageman and Steve Nidetz from staff, wire TANK McNAMARA GIL THORP SmAU.

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