European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 08, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 26 the stars and stripes sunday september 8, 1985 Ewing reaching for $30 million Star  r. Barnard a sports writer not i million not even 2 million but 3 million dollars a . For 10 years. Tor a Rookie. If a a Cikic is North $30 million then Larry Bird and i should ask for $90 Mil lion said  magic Johnson whose  Angeles lakers contract Calls for $1 million a  for 25 years. But that s what it May Cost the new York kicks to sign Patrick Ewing the three time All America super Center from Georgetown. The Market changes year by year so it boils Down to a question of value said swing s agent David Falk of the Washington based pro scr Agency. Every Case is different. You can t compare players or the contracts they signed in other years. If a player like magic Johnson is unhappy with $25 million dollars he should t have signed  though no one will confirm that $30 million is Hwing s asking Price it s nearly certain his signature on a contract will fetch in cd Cess of $1.5 million the first year and even More in subsequent years. That would put him in Larry Bird s and Moses Malone s salary territory. Last year the kicks exceeded the s3.6 million team salary Cap which has jumped to j4.2 million for the 1985-1986 season. They still have seven unsigned free agents who can be signed for any amount to keep them in a kicks uniform. Dave Debussy Hyrc kicks director of operations will not comment on the Ewing negotiations but falks says they Are pro a photo Patrick Ewing. $3 million a year a coding amicably. Debussy Hyrc docs say he does t think the Cap will handcuff the kicks in signing other players. Well be Able to do other things he said. We re not going to be stuck after we re done with  Falk said the salary Cap is less limiting in reality than it seems. The Cap did not limit the kicks ability to win As much As the injury to Bernard  however under the Cap system the smaller the contract Ewing signs the More Money the kicks might have to sign a free agent. Mich  Utah guard Darrell Griffith. But Falk scoffs at that idea. Our concern is to obtain a contract that represents Patrick s value not with giving the kicks Cap options he said. If they could guarantee a championship season by us taking less Money we would do it in a minute. But what if we look less than his value and still had a losing re Cord Falk said signing Ewing and getting layers healthy like Bill Cartwright and ing who has a serious knee injury Are the kicks most important priorities. The Best Way for a team to win a championship is to sign a dominating Cen Ter f?.lk said. That s the single most difficult resource to find when you re try ing to build a winning  Falk has a big Factor in his favor As the negotiations continue the kicks must sign Ewing. Failure to do so would be a Public relations disaster comparable to the Boston red sox Trade of babe Ruth. The 7-foot Center led the hoyas into the Mcaa finals three times winning the championship once. Many consider him to be the Best defensive Center to come out of College since Bill Russell in 1956. Falk is confident a Deal will be made before the kicks open training Camp pm i sept. 27. Proser has never not signed a first round pick he said. The Agency has represented about 35 first round draftees including James worthy Buck i. Liams Michael Jordan and Adrian Dan Tley. But is Ewing. Or any Rookie Worth s3 million a year in terms of Money generated he could be Worth millions to the kicks. When they won the seven team lottery to determine the first pick in the june draft the Knick s ticket office was caught off guard. It was like being hit by a tidal wave said George Graff director of season ticket subscriptions for Madison Square Gar Den. The fans reacted so quickly that we weren t really prepared. We had no application forms ready and the committee that sets prices had t even met yet. We could t even give people the  the kicks have not increased season ticket prices and in the interim Are taking $100 deposits from fans who want to buy them. During the kicks last championship season 1972-73, they sold 14,000 season tickets last year the total was Only 6,000. With Ewing s inevitable arrival the kicks already have sold Between 9,300 and 10,000 season tickets and expect continued sales before the season starts oct. 26 against the Philadelphia 76crs. At an average Price of $600, an additional 4,000 season tickets this season compared to 1984 gives the franchise i $2.4 million Windfall. Had 8 straight losses at end of 1982 season dodgers Aren f overlooking september los Angeles a Don t fold up the chairs or pack away the barbeque. The party the los Angeles dodgers arc throwing atop the National league s West Ern division in t Over just yet. Of the four divisional races the dodgers runaway from the Cincinnati reds and the san Diego padres is the most one sided. But the dodgers Aren t overlooking the month of september which has swallowed More than its fair share of front runners Over the years. Leads in my opinion Are like Money you can never have enough manager Tom Lasorda said during a recent interview at dodger stadium. Their league leading pitching staff has whistled like the pied Piper Ana the Dodg ers marched into a commanding Lead by winning 32 of 42 games Between june 29 and aug. 16. During that period the de fending Champion padres struggled to a 17 25 Mark a 15-game swing that left the dodgers Vith a nine game Lead. Most of that advantage is still intact los Angeles leads the reds by 8w games and the padres by nine and the dodgers Are trying to avoid a final month like that of 1982. The dodgers lost eight straight games Dur ing the final two weeks of that season squandering a three game Lead and finishing second a game behind the Atlanta braves. When you have a Lead the big thing is you have to keep playing because you Don t want to relinquish it Lasorda said. You be got to keep playing hard because what you did yesterday does t mean any thing  but if a team wins enough yesterdays the game today might not mean that much. Of course there was the 1951 new York giants and the 1964 St. Louis cardinals not to mention the 1978 new York Yan Kees teams that came from out of the Clouds to catch seemingly unbeatable front runners. As August came to a close the reds quietly crept Back into the race after falling 10 games off the Pace earlier in the month. Ignited by player manager Pete Rose s Chase for Tycobb s career hit record the reds have made up a Little ground but there s still a lot of territory to cover. The padres meanwhile Don t seem to be taking dead aim on the dodgers in the final month of the season. If you re not mathematically eliminated there s always a Chance san Diego manager Dick Williams said. It s not impossible but whether they Are watchable remains to be seen. It s happened be fore. It s not Likely but it has  the padres waltzed through september last year with a Lead that was never less than 8to games. This Yar the padres face the climb that frustrated their opponents last year. And san Diego has the additional Handicap of having Only four games left a photo dodgers Tommy Lasorda. Likes big leads against the dodgers. _ if you look at our division standings i m sure a lot of people Are saying that it s Over san Diego outfielder Tony Gwynn said. We be got to play Well ourselves but there s no question we have to have a Little help from somewhere. Well see what hip  for the past two months the dodger pitching staff has handcuffed the rest of the no. Over a period of 33 starts Start ers Fernando Valenzuela Bob Welch Jerry Russ and Orel Hershiser hire combined to win 25 of 27 decisions. The dodger staff which Over one stretch went 52 innings without yielding an earned run has produced Sterling person Ruscel with  regularity that a prolonged Sloop seems almost impossible. I Don t know about that Lacordi warned. But our pitching staff is what got us there and we certainly feel they re the ones who can keep us  the dodgers however Aren t putting All their eggs in one Basket of pitchers. Last weekend the club obtained four time no batting Champion Bill Madlock from Pittsburgh a move that Shore up third base a position that almost swim Lowed Pedro Guerrero Early this season. Guerrero has set a torrid batting do since his move into the Outfield three months afro. The dodgers have had the it of the division on the ropes. Lasorda Hopes they la stay there through september. I just want us to win enough games to that we can finish on top that s it he said. All we be got to do is be there at the end of the  Buck from Page 25 Tom Hammond Paul Page Fred Rogin and Bob Lobel. Other analysts include Reg Gie Rucker Dave Row and Bob Kutch in Berg who recently retired As a player. The nil s Hopes for higher ratings commissioner Pete Rozelie stuck his neck out a bit when he predicted an up surge in Vic worship could be boosted by several balanced division races. Only the pfc West and acc East figure to have runaways with the defending conference Champion san Francisco 49ers and Miami dolphins. What bodes Well for the league is the likelihood of tight races involving teams in major markets. The new York giants Chi Cago bears los Angeles rams and raid ers san Diego chargers Pittsburgh steel ers St. Louis cardinals Dallas cowboys and Cincinnati bengals Are rated As con tenders in their respective divisions. Lbs and Abc would like nothing better than for those big City teams to be in the Chase int december. As for Abc it s monday night package looks solid though such projections often turn sour when the rams or giants or bears fail to live up to expectations. The opening game features Dallas at washing ton and the cowboys remain the Best to draw in the league. Appearances by Kansas City Cleveland Minnesota and the new York jets teams which figure to be Al rans come relatively Early. In addition division rivalries such As the giants and cowboys bears Green Bay pack ers Bengal Steeles St. Louis Cardinal redskins. Chargers raiders rams-49enim dolphins new England patriots Are supplemented by powerhouse inter conference Gao featuring the rams and the Seattle be Awta. The 49ers and the Denver Broncos the 49e� and sea Hawks and raiders rams