European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 18, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday july 18,1986 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary air Force baseball facing third strike predictions goodbye air Force baseball Ashe know it. Hello merger. By 1987, baseball in Europe will sport a new look airmen searching for action in the German Ameri can baseball league. Shame. The merger in t necessary but there they again. Seems air Force officials want to Brush one More inside fastball and the grand old game will have 10 dust itself off. Maybe in takes a German to Wake up the policymakers. To drop baseball i Ami american. We re hiking about the National pastime said Claus Hel Mig president or the German american league. Two years ago air Force baseball nearly got Blancd. Tilburg dropped out and Wiesbaden threat ened to leaving the Continental sports conference teetering. Last Winter the . And Mediterranean league Felt die heat in the form of non participation and disbanded. That led five Csc teams As the Only official military baseball left in Europe. Then last month air Force Porti chief held powwow in Sembach. Rather than give baseball a Chance to build Back its muscle a few Panicker gave Csc commissioner Norm Hoffman this message baseball s in trouble so think about dropping in. Hoffman a big baseball fan. He starred Al wies Baden is years ago. He d As soon drop dead As drop baseball and yet. If Wiesbaden dropped out and we were Down to four teams we might look at alternatives he said. Maybe we d look at combining with the a a even though he denies it Hoffman feeling thereat from air Force sports directors. They re telling him softball s hot and baseball s not. Hoffman counters with baseball does pull i people. It s not As Good As football but if you have a Good team it la draw Ai Many As  even so. By the next big meeting in november one More Csc team maybe Wiesbaden maybe Span Dahlem might drop baseball. That would leave Hoffman with his a a option. Four Csc teams plus eight a a teams equals 12.now that s a league. Helmig says he would support it but he asks would the Csc support its air fora teams or would the teams be on their own if they Are on their own would they Welcome commercial sponsorship like Nora Hof Nous Warren Stanley some a a teams and Welcome German players whom a a teams Are supposed to play what Csc teams would go along with the plan  say it probably would not join a merger. Helmig doubts whether Sembach would join Al though Chris Carney Sembach s chief of morale welfare of recreation said i d have a team fro Sembach in the a a league As Long As the league would allow  since the a a league runs mostly on army manpower a merger would offer the Only lengthy Competition Between army and air Force athletes i Europe. Plus there s precedence. The Csc and a hooked up in the july 4 All Star game. And next month the champions of each league will Bailie in title series. It s a Good idea Rhein main Catcher Jerom Maxie said of a merger. The a a is a pretty Good league. When the Csc was rolling everyone said theg a was t Tough. But after that Alt Star game which the Csc came Back to win 9-8 and their preseason games they showed they re  i would t be against having one big league said another rocket Vinny Franco. A ballplayer is a ballplayer. Player Here Don t want to play air Force player. They want to play Ball Rhein main coach Doug Stanley who stood near by As his team prepared for wednesday s game with Wiesbaden said maybe we could have an air Force division and play  does there have to be an air Force division countered Franco. Teams should be organized by  Warren Stanley Doug s father and the rockets manager recognized the merger idea As an alternate Choice. My preference is keeping air Force  a sixth team maybe from Pitburg Zweibruck in or Hahn and build Back up thai s the Best Way. The Csc has a sounder Finan Cial footing than the commercial a a league. And once the Csc lets baseball go the Twain won t meet for years. The ., for instance lost baseball for a decade before reclaiming in in 1981. Now maybe . Has Tost in for the rest of the Century. "1 Don t think the Csc will drop it said Dou Stanley. Especially after the All Star game. In Drew about 2,000 fans. How can they say there s no inter est Here s How they say it the . And Mcd showed such Little interest they re out. That Means no Safe championship. So maybe the Csc is wasting is Money. A Money. Is baseball thai expensive relative to the numbers we serve i d say  Carney our team s balls alone Cost 13,000 a  then there s thai dreaded sister softball softballs winning. Softball is overwhelming the world. We can hardly accommodate softball said Carney. Span Dahlem i athletic director David Catling questioned do we Reserve a 300-foot Field for fewer participants or do we do what s in the bes interest of Spang Dahlem make in into a softball Field for More players Wiesbaden s athletic director Alton Lee has battled to keep his baseball program afloat the past three seasons. His problem is a Field. The army Diamond his flyers used to use is under construction. After borrowing Rhein main s Field for two years he Hopes to land his own Park next year. I want to tee More people gel involved in base Ball players and ," said Lee. If we re going to have a program Lei s have a  this is after All baseball the sport that s Boom ing in the pros in College. And with some patience Here too. American gaining on tour Leader Boyd from Page 21 Luchon France not  easily won a demanding Clune through the pyrenees wednesday  seconds of Bernard i Nult the Overall Leader who bad tried tomake the tour de France race a rout. Lemond an american who nodes forthe vie Claire team turned the tables on his French teammate who went on breakaway tuesday that gave him a Lead of five minutes 25  tried to repeat that exploit wednesday taking off on he first of fou big dicta and budding a Lead that reached 2 30, if he bad been Able to hold it the race might have been All but Over Long before its kheduledendjuy27in  weather however was too hot in the High 80s and the course tooling and tiring. It covered 115 Miles from Pau to the resort of super Bagneris High above the town of Luchon. Tin the last climb. 5,840 feet through teas of thousands of spectators Tinault began to fade. One by one the Rales who had been chasing him App cd by. Lemond finished in six hours minutes and 37 seconds travelling alone the last three Miles. Second was Robert Millar of Scotland 1 12 behind. Urs Zimmermann of Switzerland was third 1 1 s behind. American Greg Lemond u coated by a tin during to Hatoor be France wednesday. Pfob there s nothing to indicate that s the problem right  Gorman said he did t know if boy would be paid during his continued sus pension but conceded that the Pitcher was unhappy with the police. He feels he s being persecuted by them said the general manager. I Don t know Boyd said when asked if his treatment has been fair As he darted out the Back door of the red sox dub House wednesday. That s  Gorman said Boyd complained that police had twisted his right Arm. He said his Arm was bothering him Gorman said. We Are All concerned about his emotional stability in Light of everything that has happened the last week said  Pappas the red sox physician. We can l Force him to gel help. We can advise in. We can encourage him to seek it shortstop Rey quinone who lives with Boyd said a lot of police we represent tuesday night when the car he and Boyd were in was stopped in front of their Chelsea condominium. Quinones said Bath his and Boyd arms were twisted. The shortstop was reluctant to comment  be got to change my clothes he said at his locker. It s not my problem. Isee what the police Are doing with a play