European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 16, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday july 16, 1987 the stars and stripes Paga 19 commentary Gooc Fen looking Good even in grasses a Young Man in a Light Blue summer suit was wearing a customarily spectacles with Blue Rimi that color coordinated with his Suil he was departing the other evening from his work place a baseball clubhouse. One wondered if the Young Man 22. Who had suffered widely reported troubles recently was having problems with his peepers too no said Dwight Gooden i just thought i might look better with glasses. I need All the help i can doctor k said in with a soft a Alicr shy smile puking gentle fun at himself at this bespectacled affectation. People comfortable with themselves of a can make jokes at their own expense. It seems a testimony to the growth of Gooden in the last month or so Hal he can indulge in so self deprecating a luxury. The last Lime one noticed the acts Ace Pitcher wearing glasses dark glasses not the Clear lenses of the other evening was after he got into a Brawl with the Tampa police last december. His problems continued to escalate. He tested positive for cocaine and entered the Smithers Institute in new York just before the season. Whether being committed there was something that he needed he said that he was t & cocaine addict but an occasional user or was a Public image imperative for baseball executives it seems at this writing thai the experience changed Gooden. The dark glasses he wore last december were de signed primarily to hide behind. Not so now. Since his return june 5 when most of the 51,401 fans in Shea stadium greeted him with cheers As he look the Mound against Pittsburgh he has won sit games and lost iwo. He has clearly taken up where he Tell off last year As one of inc Best pitchers in base Ball. One difference is that for the first time in four years or since he arrived in the big leagues he was not named to the National league team for tuesday s All Star game. Gooden started for the National league last season. On Friday night in the Astrodome he beat hous ton 7-3 in another solid performance. Before the All Star pitchers were announced thursday some won dered if Gooden had a Chance to make inc team again. In hurts a lot that i m not on inc team said Gooden inc other Day. But i did l expect to have a Dwight Gooden no All Star in ti7 i was shot at in. Idon l think it would have been fair to the other pitchers the Guys who had been pitching All what hurts he said is that he might have to explain this to his children Down the Road. "1 might have a record of nine times on the All Star team and my son la say daddy what happened this year How come you we run i picked i la have to say i was dumb definitely dumb " Gooden recalled his first All Star game in 1984, when he was 19 years old and real he was on the same learn he said with All these Guys i had seen on television. Mike Schmidt was the first player to say hello and Sieve Garvey talked to me about Tampa. We re both from Gooden pitched two innings in the 84 All Star game striking out the Side in the first of the two innings he pitched. He allowed no runs in his stint. He did t appear in the 1985 game. Last season he was the losing Pitcher. At one Point in the last few Yean he might not have been As casual in retrospect about thai hanging curve. But that s one of his changes changes Hal he says arc for the better. One of the things i be Learned to do he said referring to the therapy he received during and since his stay at Smithers is to not feel so bad if i mess up on the Mound or even making a Little talk at in appearance. If people Are nol going to like me Well there s nothing i can do about in you can l be afraid to be yourself and you should t try lobe something you re nol As he grew in stature As a Pitcher the expectations grew around him and subsequently within him. When you gave up eight or nine hits and still win 6 3, people began to wonder what s wrong you begin to get Down on when Goode tested positive for drugs he Felt especially pained for his parents. My Mother was More understanding he said my dad was u Ball player himself and he s kind of a fan and this really Ore him Gooden said Hal of the several Hundred letters he has received Many from children Only a few have been critical saying things like you Lei me Down and i m nol a fan but most of the correspondence he said says everyone makes mistakes and you re still my idol you be straightened out now sometimes you hear things from the stands like hey we got some Coke in a Mirror Doc but most fans have been encouraging. I feel More honest that it s All out in the open now cleaner he said and More confident in talk the mets have also allowed him to grow up and Are not nearly As protective. Rarely now do they try to shield their pitching Ace from the news Media. He is on his own two feet and standing steady. What will he do during the three Day All Star break going Back to Tampa he said for the wedding stuff he is marrying a Tampa woman Monica Harris in november got to tale an in Gage enl picture and handle some wedding arrange and practice saying "1 do he was Askild. Yeah he said laughing. So i can say it without stuttering or sweating getting a kick out of . Football by Linda Curbow in soccer dominated Europe Many Young Ameri can soldiers stationed overseas particularly at re Mote site must often put their participation in one of America s favorite pastimes football on hold. But Tor Anthony Harris a Supply clerk with the United kingdom company 52nd signal in Sih Sig Nal come in Burtonwood England his enthusiasm for the game is shared with his British hosts. A local sports Center Here in Warrington eng land was looking for americans who wanted to play american football on a British team explained Harris staff sgt. Stephen Atchley and i went out and watched the Warrington learn practice Wilh other area teams. After about a week we went Back to the sports shop and told them we d like to play with some 80,000 British and american fans will pack London s Wembley stadium on aug. 9 when the Den ver Broncos play the los Angeles rams in a National football league exhibition. Yet. On the local level Only three american player Are allowed on the Field at a Lime. Harris said Hal inc americans Are identified by a Small a that they Musi display somewhere on their helmets. Right now it Only have three americas out of 52 on the team he said. Only two of them tre players. One is a along with the american coach the team also has a Brit on its coaching staff. And having the most it Peri enc with the game the american players often advise their English teammates on the fundamentals of the game. Right now they Don t really hit very hard when they confessed Harris. I guess ii t because they Are still just learning How to play the game. That s the greatest asset the americans give to the learn we can actually teach them the fundamentals of the besides soccer Rugby is a favorite game of the United kingdom Harris said thai this tends to cause con fusion Lor the brits. They lend to tackle High As they would for Rugby instead of Down around the Waist which is required to bring your Man Down in football he remarked. They Don t quite have passing All together yet i one thing Harris added Hal they do have together is their Altitude toward football. They really pay attention and Are really eager to with Harris giving pointers the members of the Warrington scorpions Are definitely getting experienced advice. Afler playing football Trade and basketball in High school in Mississippi Harris received several offers to play College football. He elected to attend Alcorn slate University also in Mississippi on a track scholarship where he eventually earned his degree in institutional management. A initially joined the army three years ago Wilh the intentions of working in the club system As a club manager. But now my goal in the service is to become a warrant officer. Should i make my 20 years i m considering retiring in Florida and running a restaurant hotel there. If 1 can gel my warrant i m sure the Espe Rient will help me to reach a higher for now hams is reaching higher positions on inc team. He has already ruined for 1,000 Yards. Right now t hic being a player on the team but tasks Al a Anthony Harris a Soldier naming with Ibe football one Day i May Stop playing and actually just help coach. Either Way i la Way with the learn in some form until i leave England said Harris. So if you happen to be in Northern England this summer and feel a Little homesick Stop off and Caleb a game of Good old american football. And if you should Sec a Black and Gold Skircak running across the Field in will probably Juit be Harris adding on inc yardage
