European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 28, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday. February 28, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary now George has his olympic yanks never underestimate the Power of wish Ful thinking. Before these Winter games Ever began some southerners Al heart prayed for a Chinook wind to warm up the Alberta Prairie. The result has been a heavy meltdown of Snow and warm winds that have played havoc with the Mountain events. The next circumstance of Wishful thinking was wishing for just one honest to goodness baseball player scratching his double knits and spitting Sun Flower seeds to make up for All these Micro second Speed sports. The Calgary newspaper added to the lease the last to Days by displaying color pictures of Whiley her zog flexing his Beer belly and Dave Winfield flexing his Muscles at Spring training Camps. And last week baseball came to inc a incr games. It was rumoured that a noted baseball personality would appear at a news conference to discuss inc efficiency of the United Stales olympic commit tee. At 11 . The doors opened and of my Good Ness it was George Stcin Brenner. The big Chinook from the South roared into Cal Gary to be introduced As chairman of a special olym Pic overview commission pronounced joke he immediately let everybody know he was nol accepting this chairmanship of the joke because he was upset thai . Al Zelcs have won Only iwo golds one Silver and one Bronze. I can find no Faull Wilh inc competitive spirit of the  Steinbrenner said. But arc we doing enough to prepare the Al Hucles he had kind words for Robert h. Holmick the Percsi Donl of inc . Olympic com Millie sitting beside him. And with the Slaff in Colorado Spring Sand Wilh All inc National sports federations. Every body is doing a great Job George said. This is the Way in was for inc first hour or iwo of Sti in Brenner s limited partnership of the new York Yankees. He just wanted a look around. Within months owners and exec Ulics were div ing for the door and  was ordering play ers to Cut their hair and Slop fooling around on inc Field. In his Lime. Stcin Brenner won four pennants and two world series and raised the Standard for spend ing Money on players salaries but he has not won anything since 1981. What can he bring to the soc would he assign Billy Martin to motivate ski jumpers would he dispatch Bob Lemon to teach the hockey team How to play defense would he order soc executives to stay in their rooms As he some times docs with his general managers would he threaten the downhill skiers with exude to Columbus no no no no George said with a smile. The joke will review a typically democratic an Archy of widespread sports federations donations from Public and private groups the soc head quarters in Colorado Spring and athletes hustling to shirts and conducting Raffles in their hometowns to pay for their habits while the soc claims a budget of $ 140 million for the next four years. I find it disgusting that this wonderful Little girl from Illinois had to sneak in at 6 . To prepare herself for athletic Competition Stcin Brenner said in reference to Bonnie Blair the Gold medal Winner in Speed skating. I want to make sure we re doing right by our athletes who Are going against athletes from nations that take it  Steinbrenner who once damaged his hand in a mysterious incident in an elevator during the 1981 world series and then apologized to All of new York when the Yankees lost did not say that Ameri Ca should be first in Winter games or summer  can do better and we should do better he said. But what i want to know is arc we doing a Good Job when other nations have improved improved improved. Out in the hinterlands people Are saying. Are we doing a Good jobs the american Public deserves the Best they could  for bluer or worse these Winter sports thai materialize from the Snow squalls of Public perception every four years like Brigadoon Are a victim of american preoccupation with professional team sports. In a sense. George Stcin Brenner  for joke is a victim of George Steinbrenner. Princi pal owner of inc Yankees. All the Beer endorse ments All inc paid admissions Are going to make Dave Winfield a Rich Man rather than help America beat the russians in nordic skiing. Major league baseball is  Stcin Brenner said. We devoted a whole Gate from one game to the baseball  would he lend a player from inc Yankees to the american baseball team in Seoul next september maybe a Pitcher i Haven t got any Stein Brenner said. I would t want to decimate my team but maybe we could give them somebody who would help. The world series and super bowl Are important to the . But the olympics arc of International  the Man from joke who has been a member of the soc executive Board since 1984. Listed his Long involvement with Amateur sports Youthful hurdler in the Dillard Era in Cleveland when even shipbuilders sons wanted to grow up to be Harrison Dillard hurdler at Williams College owner of the Cleveland pipers who won All eight games on a Amateur tour of the soviet Union in  thought 1960. Steinbrenner will chair a committee thai includes Donna do Varona to personality and for Mer Gold medal Winner James t. Morris president of the Lilly foundation ambassador j. William Middendorf Robert Sheppard former chairman of Allstate insurance and Frank j. Heffron Dean of the Ford Harn University business school. I did t need another committee Stcin Brenner said but we want to be sure our athletes Are getting every possible Chance. Just throwing Money at ath letes is not the  Many years ago  courted Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter with wheelbarrows full of Gold. He says that May not be the Way to go for olympic sports. But right now George just wants a look around. Than a Vort to two $750,000 . Bobsled draws polite yet by Chuck  Calgary Alberta a in an unusual display of International sports Manship a soviet bobsled official Las week agreed to look Over the new . Bobsled to help figure out Why they Don l work. Janis Ukolov examined one of the four Man machines from Bow to Stern and. Frankly had trouble finding any thing right at All. The bolts arc Loose he told the . Team. And it won t balance  such is the state of the United Stales $ i million bobsled research project. Ukolov was t really telling the . Bobsled dvrs anything they did t already know. They had no intention of using the sleds built by airflow sciences of Livo Nia mich., because they d had Loo Little Lime to test them. American Driver Matt Roy drove one Early in the project and hated it but he Hope the research continues. I drove one and was totally Disi Llu  he said. There was a lot of sloping the steering. That was one thing i did t like. But the project is definitely a Posi Tive. It la be interesting to Sec what Hap pens from now  Roy says he considers airflow executive vice president Jim Paul a close Friend and Paul reciprocates. Although the project has spent $750,000 without throwing any fear into the european countries that dominate the sport Paul is confident thai breakthroughs arc near. We just got ourselves into a time bind and could t get inc sleds and the even so usa1 s in Contention Calgary Alberta a defending Gold medallist Wolfgang Hoppe of East Germany broke the count record by More than a second saturday to take the Lead in the four nun olympic bobsled while Brent Rushlaw drove Usai into medal Conten ton with a surprising filth place performance at the Midway Point the final two heats win be held sunday with the combined limes of the four heals determining the  United states has t won a bobsled medal since taking a Bronze in 1956 and was t expected to contend this year because of internal dissension and botched sled development  Rushlaw 36, a four toe olympian whose Best previous finish was sixth in the 1980 two Man Competition turned in two excellent runs of 56.72 seconds and 57.67 for a total of 1 54.39.Rushlaw, of Saranac Lake , built his Strong showing upon two Quick sorts that Are not generally his hallmark. His sled covered the first 50 meters in 526 seconds on the dust run and 5.25 on the second run which helped him overcome modest steering mistake that bumped him against the Wall Midway through the second heat the second us. Sled driven by Matt Roy was 17th after two Beau. Hoppe 30, Winner of the two Man and four Man golds at Sarajevo in 1984, covered the 4,838-foot count in 56.16 to beat the course record of 57os set by Canadian Driver Chris Lori last month. Learn log Lucr enough he said from his office in Michigan. It s been an cd Len Sive research program. We be made great gains in design runners seating All Dif Ferent aspects of sled  unfortunately the sleds still Don l work. The . Bobsled dvrs have prac Licud in the airflow sleds and in an ital Ian sled that had been reworked by de signers Al Ohio slate University but when the olympics rolled around they were using sleds purchased off the rack from two italian manufacturers. Paul whose company does a lot of wind Tunnel testing on vehicles was t offended. We just Haven t had time yet to do everything we wanted to he said. Airflow got involved with the bobsled team after Reading an article in a 1984 Issue of mechanical engineering mag Azine. It was Fri tin by a professor Al Case Western Reserve University who was part of a study to find out How the United Stales was faring in inc  Paul said. In said inc . Was a Lead Erin Zero High acc enology sports luge rowing bobsled anything in which technology played a critical  donations from 53 different corporations most notably from an indonesian businessman who d taken an inter est in the sport. Inc . Bobsled federation began working with airflow on new  first. Airflow took italian sleds and refined them. And inc results were Good.. Limes and placing were improving in world cup  the improvement was not dramatic  a year and a half ago it was suggested we Stop playing around Wilh existing Chassis and Start building fro the ground  Paul said. That was authorised in april of "87."il was t nearly enough time to develop totally new. Competitive sleds for the 88 olympics. They should have had a two tiered program doing the retrofits and working on new sleds Roy  Short term results Prudi capably. Have been Bleak. Roy finished 16th in last weekend s two Man race and Rush Law bothered by a bad Back did t Fin ish at  refuses to be discouraged. We think we can do a lol of research now for a lot less Money he said be cause Malc rials in the existing sleds can be used to build new  focus he said will be narrowed to producing a world class two Man sled. Four Man machines will come later