European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 8, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday March 8, 1986 stars and stripes Page 23 the magic s Back in Marques Johnson there s an old adage be careful what you Pray for. You May get  or the worst thing in my life May not be in not getting everything you always dreamed of. It May be getting it. Just ask Marques Kevin Johnson. Before there was a magic Johnson in los Angeles there was a Marques. He could do everything with a basketball anyone Ever wanted. He did t play a game he painted it. He moved across the court like a Brush across a Canvas. I once wrote that watching Marques Johnson on court was like watching Gene Kelly in the rain or Peggy Fleming on ice. Or Dimaggio gliding under a Long one. The problem was not what he did it was where redid it. There s nothing wrong with Milwaukee wis. It probably beats 20 to 30 other cities As a place to eat sausage raise kids brew Beer dance the polka or bowl. It s not so idyllic if you re a sports superstar. If you re a Star you want to play the Palace. If you have a hit show you want it on Broadway. Marques Johnson could see that the other m. John son had taken the act to Hollywood where he had become a household word a Media pet and an International celebrity. Marques Fame tended to Peter out about Oshkosh. It was t As if Marques had come into town on the egg truck. Marques was no Ordinary collegiate jump shooter from the can brakes or tobacco Sheds. Marques had played his College basketball with John wooden s Urcla Bruins. Hollywood s team. Marques came from Klieg Light country. He began to yearn for a return he admits now. Like the Good Soldier schweik he had put in his time in the Snow. He was bucking a trend spending his Winters out of the Sun Belt. He was going into fahrenheit minus when every other millionaire was going to sunglasses country. So when he got the news that he was being traded Back to Southern California Marques Felt like a kid Jim Murray getting a new Pony. His prayers had been answered. Never mind that the los Angeles clippers were less a team than a caravan. They came through towns like the High Plains drifter the basketball version of the largest permanent original floating crap game in sports. They came into town trailing the detritus of lawsuits and counterclaims by Way of Buffalo where they were the braves and san Diego where nobody could re member what they had been. They settled permanently in the Shadow of the lakers who were annoyed at these claim jumpers. Never mind. For Marques the essential fact was his dream had come True. All he could need would be a Little help and the clippers would be banging the boards of a championship. It All came to a shuddering Stop with the publication of a los Angeles times Story five months into the season. The focus of the Story was that the Milwaukee Bucks when they traded Marques had neglected to mention that he had once undergone drug treatment. But the real Bombshell was the news that Marques had been on drugs at All. The worst thing had happened to Marques he had gotten his heart s desire. If he had stayed in Milwaukee confidentiality might have been preserved his reputation saved. Marques was stunned then Hurt. His first reaction was to go into a Shell to take a posture of what Story to pretend it was t there or even if it was it would go away like the Little Man who was t there. He began to leave locker rooms with everything but his coat Over his head like one of those photos captioned mafia Don  truth does t go away. Ignored unaddressed it spread. At year s end the clippers sued the Bucks for Selling them fraudulent goods. Marques began to feel like Stock in a nonexistent Gold mine. Marques decided to go Public. I read in the paper where Reggie Jackson had argued that the athlete s privacy and confidentiality should be honoured and then some woman sent a letter disagreeing and saying the problems should be addressed and opened for everybody s Benefit. Her arguments impressed  Marques decided that silence was the worst form of denial. With most players you become aware of a problem when they Start missing planes buses practices or team meetings. With Marques it was when he began missing free throws. He made All the other schedules. There is probably no such thing As an occasional user in cocaine. Like pregnancy addiction has no de Grees. But when rumours surfaced about Marques use he readily confirmed it for his coach Don Nelson and general manager Wayne Embry and enrolled in a Minneapolis Hospital without demur. He was actually relieved. He is a Young Man from a strongly religious household where his father was a schoolteacher and his Mother came from a Long line of preachers. Marques recalls i Felt like a hypocrite. I knew what i was doing was the opposite of what was morally  it was shame not Defiance that caused him to want to avoid the Issue. The Story has a Happy ending. Marques Johnson 1986, is the player the clippers thought they were getting All along. Just turned 30, he is a Board Clearing 23-Point shooting Star who just May Lead the team into the playoffs for the first time since they left Buffalo. The moral of the Story is the worst thing about dreams coming True is that sometimes they make you Wake up. Los Angeles times Andujar says hell make the Grade with a s Phoenix Ariz. A Joaquin Andujar says his reputation is like cheap aftershave it precedes him and it s irritating. I m not a troublemaker like the papers say everyday. I never lie in my life. That s Why i have trouble said the 33-year-old dominican Pitcher. He was acquired by the Oakland a s last december in a Trade with the St. Louis cardinals. You know nobody talks bad about me in St. Louis. I m not going to say i m a Good Guy or a bad Guy but if you want to know just go to St. Louis and interview anybody you want. I la pay you $1 million if you find anybody who says Joaquin is a bad Guy. We will find out this year if i m the kind of Guy you put in the papers or  Andujar s name indeed has been Mak ing headlines. Lately it s because of commissioner Peter Ueberroth s one year suspension of Adjuar and six other players whose names were linked to drug use. However they All can still play if they donate 10 percent of their salaries to drug prevention programs. The seven must also submit to random drug testing for the rest of their careers and Volunteer 100 hours of drug related Community service in each of the next two years. Although he has t announced his Deci Sion Andujar has indicated he will comply with Ueberroth s ruling. I want to get Over everything he said. Based on his 1986 base salary of $1.15 Mil lion his 10 percent voluntary contribution would be $115,000. He has to sit out the Start of the season anyway. Up photo Joaquin Andujar went 20-14 and 21-12 the last two seasons. I m not the Only one who s Ever argued with an Umpire that s because he was fined $500 and suspended 10 Days by Ueberroth for bump ing Umpire Don Denkinger in the seventh game of the 1985 world series. The right hander argued two close pitches in the fifth inning and was ejected from the game which the cardinals lost 11-0 to Kansas City. I m not the Only one who s Ever argued with an Umpire Andujar said. When George Brett tried to kill an Umpire in the Pine tar Bat episode nobody made a big Deal out of it and he did t get suspended. But when Joaquin does something it s a big Deal. Why me maybe it s because i m so popular he added with a laugh. Maybe because of the Beautiful name Joaquin. Everybody loves to write about  a s general manager Sandy Alderson says that off the Field Andujar is basically a generous compassionate Guy and Flambo Yant. We Are not going to try and change his personality. There s no harm in a cer Tain amount of  that s Good because Andujar says he does t intend to change. You have to be the same Way. If i change i might lose 20 and win  his records the past two seasons were 20 14 and 21-12. I will be the same Joaquin Andujar pitching the same Way i pitched in the National league. The Only thing i m going to change is i m going to talk to sports writers  when the a s pitchers and catchers reported Here feb. 22 for the first Day of drills Andujar was t among them. He is now. Tigers blow Lead to Chison in Spring opener by the associated press the Detroit tigers started the 1986 exhibition season just where they left off the 1985 regular season. In the first major league Spring training game of the year thursday at Lakeland fla., the Chicago White sox took advantage of a Detroit error to rally for five runs in the ninth inning off reliever Willie Hernandez and a 5-2 Victory Over the tigers. I booted it there s no doubt about it said Detroit third baseman Darnell Coles whose error led to Chicago s comeback. Coles was acquired from Seattle during the of season. Detroit was the worst Fielding team in the american league in 1985, a problem that contributed to the 1984 world series champions falling to a Distant third place in the Al East last year. He has to make the team Detroit manager Sparky Anderson said of Coles. Ill be honest i Don t know anything about him. I m not going to do nothing but watch. If he s not going to play i would think he d be better off Back in the minor leagues where he can get some  Coles is competing for the third base Job with Tom Brookens. San Francisco giants Pitcher Atlee Hammaker was Given the go ahead to re sume workouts after taking More Hospital tests investigating an undiagnosed Winter problem that caused him to lose weight and left him feeling tired. The Atlanta braves found out that shortstop Rafael Ramirez will be out for a week to 10 Days with a sprained ankle. Ramirez was Hurt during an intr squad game wednesday when he tried to get Back to first base on a Pickoff attempt