European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 31, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday january 31, 1987 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary baseball players Are striking out Jack Morris in t wanted by the Yankee Philadelphia u going to say no think to Una Par Rish the cute Don t need Andre Dawson and no Bod 1 pities the time of Day to Tim Raines. It s called collusion by major league baseball play in the cml or doing business by the owners. It s baseball 1987-style, and the players Are going Down swinging All Over he place. Don t even look for any signings before Spring training or even before May i. That the Date former learns arc eligible to sign their free agents. A new stability has come Over the people who operate the cubs Phillies Yankee and the rest of the major league clubs. It is a stability painfully arrived at by getting burned Lime and again by free agents who Nave been injured after signing for the big Bucks. It s a Case of whal Are you going to do for me now not whal have you done lately. And the play ers complaints of collusion ring hollow seeing a they arc the ones who agreed to play this game of free Agency. Before i go any further let me say that i am All for getting As much As you can while you can. I understand that a professional athlete s career is Short and he should gel paid As much As the mar Ket demands. But the Market s dried up and the players themselves by signing their names to the Basic agreement helped suck it dry. The players got behind in the count on this one when they agreed to the provisions of the current Basic agreement. The owners meanwhile Are get Ting criticized for playing the free Agency game with brains under the agreement instead of letting their Money do the talking like they did in the 1970s. Yes the Money is there but docs that mean the owners have to wild pitch it All the Way to the Backstop no. They can pick and choose their spots just like an Over the Hill fireball or who can Tim Boivin Crank it up every now and then when it counts. One can understand when the cubs pm Dallas Green is reluctant to toss Good Money after bad. Dawson is 32 and his Knees Are shot although Wrigley Field s grass May have allowed him to put in a year or two before crumbling. You Only have to look at the cubs s3 million pitching notation which spent most of the 1983 and 1986 seasons watching from the disabled list. From there it i easy to understand Why Green is not willing to take a Chance on an outfielder whose Knees May give out under him at any Lime. And whal about George  in new York yes Jack Morris Lias been the dominant Pitcher in baseball Over the East nine years. But that Means he has just a few years left. How Long can he keep it up Stcin Brenner s gambling that he can t. The Odds in this Case favor Steinbrenner holding onto his Wallet. Bill Giles in Philadelphia will say no thanks to Lance Parrish. The Phillies have a Young team and while a 31 year old Catcher to handle the Young arms would be Nice Rob Boone is the exception in baseball not the Rule. Parrish with his bad Back realistically has two maybe three years left behind the plate with plenty of rest in Between and is better olt in the american league where he can do. Giles is actually going to do him a favor but you could t Tell by the collusion Ary moans an groans. Finally there is the Case of Tim Raines Here Isth one player who at 27, is a shoo in to help any team he goes to. Bui instead there arc Only cursory glances and passing interests in the quintessential Ica Doft hitter who led the National league in Bai Ting with a .334 average stole 69 bases and scored 91 runs last year. With hardly any interest expressed in Raines that gives More credence to the play cars charges of collusion than any of the other cases. The owners an colluding. So they arc using common sense although they Aren t gelling com Mon applause for it. Instead the players plead their hardships seeking Relief from their poverty through the Legal system and sympathy from Joe fan who May be having the same Lough time get Ting a raise out of his Boss. It s not working. We be heard this All before last year with Kirk Gibson. The players agreed to the terms of free Agency. They have to live up to All the conditions and con sequences of the Basic agreement. That include snot being Able to re sign with their former teams until May i. If nobody else wants them Tough. They won t play. Greed Only goes so far. The poor mouthing is getting old and getting old Quick. As for the owners they deserve the applause. They arc using fiscal restraint in a nation that is buried under a huge National debt because the politicians did t use any. They arc providing valuable lessons on How to run a business which is what major league baseball is and what government . They should be in Washington helping to balance the budget of the nation. These owners know what it s like to spend spend spend and they got burned burned burned just like the government is Well on its Way 10. At least the owners Learned Isdr lesson. That in t collusion that s sound judgment. It s something the people running the Good old us of a need More of. Maybe Ronald Reagan could sign the owners As free agents for the Treasury department. Counting on Spinnaker named Dolly Conner predicts stars & stripes win Fremantle Australia up skipper Dennis Conner predicted a stars and stripes Victory Friday that would return the America s cup to the United tales while Australia s Kookaburra 111 helmsman Iain Murray withdrew his optimistic 4-2 forecast against Conner s Ocean racing dragster a confident Conner said he will rely on a Joti Highl line Speed strategy. He plans to Power ahead of Murray at the Stan and Lead around the first Windward Mark for control of the 24.1-Nauticalmile race. If we sail Well enough and have no bad Luck we have the ability to win said the san Diego yacht gub skipper. The race culminates a three year $ 15-Rniilion Campaign to avenge Conner s 1983 loss to Australia ending America s132-year-old reign. Stars and stripes is faster upwind in a straight line Conner observed but Kookaburra Iii has an Edge tacking and  but Murray said he would sabotage Conner with aggressive tactics in their first confrontation in saturday s opening race of the Bessac seven series. Well take the Slart said the 28-year-old Murray who will be going up against the world s most experienced 12-meter skipper in Conner. We re smart enough to control the  in will be great for America if we succeed Conner said. The location of the 1991 regatta would be up Toa committee organized by the san Diego yacht club if Stan and stripes won. I had a problem in 1983," Conne recalled. I was trying to convince myself i had the ability to win but i realized i was up against a formidable  the package Conner was talking about was the breakthrough winged keel used on Australia ii. I was anxious but this time i m More relaxed. I m cautiously optimistic. Let get on with  Conner has been testing a Spinnaker nicknamed Dolly and a Mainsail made out of a new lows Rulch Light weight fabric called Spectra. The Spinnaker he three horizontal rows of pockets in the top with the sail named after the voluptuous coun try music Singer Dolly Parton. While the Spinnaker enhances Down wind Speed Conner noted there was a problem getting it Down quickly. Conner spent si5 million and enlisted the help of the National aeronautics an space administration the aerospace Industry and defense department contractors in coming up with Stan and stripes. Murray designing boat since he was 11, relied on his own creativity and lie$24 million backing of Perth millionaire businessman Kevin Parry in devising the three Kookaburras. Sum and Stripe skipper Dennis Conner. Hopes to avenge 1983 loss Davis told to pay another $5 million san Diego a a san Diego Superior court jury thursday awarded another $5 million to former san Diego chargers owner Gene Klein in his civil lawsuit against Al Davis the managing general partner of the los Angeles raid ers. The award brings to More than $10million the jury has awarded Klein in his malicious prosecution Case. Klein claimed a near fatal heart attack he suffered in 1981 was brought on by being named an individual defendant in Davis antitrust lawsuit against the nation Al football league. The july voted 9-3 the minimum number of votes required to award the punitive damages. Davis said Klein a longtime business rival was named an individual defendant because he intentionally moved 10 Siop the nil from allowing Davis Lomove the raiders franchise from Oak land to los Angeles. A los Angeles Federal judge dismissed Klein As an individual defendant three Days after Klein suffered his heart attack while testifying. On dec. 10, the jury awarded Klein More than is million in compensatory damages. Neither Davis nor Klein was in court for the decision. It was a very Nice birthday present that the jury handed Down today said Klein who turned 66 on thursday. I m of course very very Happy the  Joseph Alia la one of Davis attorneys criticized the award. He had urged jurors to award no punitive damages in therase. It just compounds the aberrations and lunacy involved in the first trial. We have to live with it but Well keep fight ing and we have every Confidence it s going to be overturned Caliolo said. Davis was not available for comment. His office said he was in Indianapolis scouting College football players. Gary Bailey another attorney for Davis asked Superior court judge Gil Bert Haralson 10 slay enforcement of the judgment for 10 Days which the judge agreed to do. The rial leading the first award lasted10 weeks. The punitive damage hearing phase was conducted in three Days this week and included testimony regarding Davis personal Worth and the value or the raiders