European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 2, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Saturday july 2,1988 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary Knepper hums of a different tune How Many ballplayers do you know off hand who get ready for a game by listening to a Guy sing ing your tiny Myers Are Frozen in italian or perhaps they Call me Mimi or now com Mand me How about thy lips like Crimson berries or the intermezzo from Cavalleri Rusti Cana ballplayers listen to Willie Nelson right Bruce Springsteen. Heavy Metal. Hard Rock earache music. The insistent rhythms of the Mambo. Not Bob Knepper. So far As he is concerned the Boss is Giacomo Puccini. Knepper is of All things into grand opera. If Caruso did t sing it Bob Proba Bly does t listen to it. He does t really care for anything written after 1900, except for maybe Madame or anything Sung by Mario Lanza. Bob listens to everything Ever recorded by Mario Lanza. He has worn out sets of recordings of be my love " he has the Complete scores of Toast of new Orleans and the great and if you walk by his House at night you will think you have Stum bled on a Short wave from a sidewalk cafe in Naples. Bob Knepper is at the moment the Best Pitcher on what is probably the Best staff in the National league maybe the majors the Houston astros. He has a record of 8-1. He has struck out More than 1,300 batters in his career. Bob puts the Ball where he wants it not where you want it. But he d give it All up losing Carmen. He d rather be Luciano Pavarotti than a Pitcher rather sing in the met than shut out the mets. It All began with Lanza. Knepper was Only 5 years old when Mario Lanza died but someone in the family had brought Home a set of the movie Tenor s Best records. Naughty Marietta does not loom Large in the lives of most Young athletes growing up in the wine country of Northern California or anywhere else. Victor her Bert does not figure prominently 9n locker room Boom boxes. A Sweet mystery of life is not something they re Apt to warm up on in the steam room. But for Bob Knepper the whole new world of classical music was opened up because he fell in love with the grandiose Bel Canto of the operatic movie Jim Murray Star who came off the streets of South Philly with the big voice and the bigger appetites. It is said that you listen to grand opera with your heart not your ears. And the Lush emotionality of Mario Lanza s voice got through to the Young Knepper. Lots of modern players psych themselves up for big games with lavish doses of jazz reggae. Armies go to War to the beats of Sousa or George m. Cohan. It is said Hitler needed the bombast of Wagner to fuel his own flagging nerve. But it s doubtful if any locker room or team bus Ever echoed to the strains of a Luce Van Lestelle before. Una furtive Lagrima has never been thought of As a theme for a Pep rally before. Ballplayers have tried every hype known to society to get themselves up for games. I have known some who chanted who prayed consulted horoscopes read fortunes but i never knew one who kept the quartet from rigoletto Handy or got ready to pitch to the strains of my heart at thy Sweet i can get Goose pimples just hearing a great so Prano or Tenor says Knepper. Is he hooted out of the dugout for his strange addiction to most ballplayers indeed most people grand opera is just a lot of fat ladies coughing in the key of c or dying of love for some gloomy old party Riding around in open swans and wearing a helmet with horns. The Only opera they listen to is soap. To Knepper they Are missing out. I Tell them a Hundred years from now my music will still be played theirs won t even be i thought it might be fun to bring the National league s Foremost expert on Mario Lanza together with the world s Foremost expert on Mario Lanza. Terry Robinson the health club entrepreneur was the most faithful old Friend toward the end the Only old Friend Mario Lanza Ever had. A one Lime Boxer and body builder from Coney Island a fifth runner up in a or. America contest in Madison Square Garden once Terry was the person who most often had to pick up the pieces in the Tenor s tempestuous the Money and the movies and the hangers on were gone Terry was still there to the extent that when Mario Lay tragically dead at 38, a judge almost unasked awarded custody of Lanza s four children to Uncle knew More about Terry Robinson than Terry knew about the Houston astros. And the colloquy was an animated discussions of a Man whose wild Story career left an indelible impression on a stylish left handed Pitcher who knew him Only through his recordings and sometimes think that Mario was ruined by Hollywood the Pitcher who would rather be a Singer told the Man who knew Mario Lanza better than any living human being. He should have taken that voice to the metropolitan opera not to metro Gold Wyn Mayer. He should have studied in Europe not Culver Terry reminded him but if he had never made those movies if he did not become a popular Star a lot of people would never have heard of him. Including Bob stops Short of saying he would prefer a Lanza compact disc to a by Young award but he does say he would rather be in la Boheme than a world series. For him opera stars should be on Bubble gum Terry gave him a Bootleg album from one of Lanza s Early to shows he reacted As if he d just been told he was going to Start the All Star game. I now have every record he Ever recorded he said he walked away an eavesdropping Spectator in the dugout boxes Learned Over and said it s Amaz ing How a Mario Lanza can Lead a Young Man like that to Long hair music.". Knepper would beg to disagree. His is not Long hair anymore. Theirs is. His is practically Crew Cut by comparison. The los Angeles times Shumate named sum basketball coach Dallas a John Shumate an assistant at notre Dame was named thursday As Southern methodist s new basketball coach and said he would stress academic Success As Well As athletic Vic tories. Shumate 37, replaces Dave Bliss who resigned to go to the University of new Mexico after leading the Mustangs to the Mcaa tournament last Spring. Shumate a former All american at notre Dame who later played in the Aba with six teams during a seven year career said he decided to take the Job after talking with sum athletic director Doug single school president a. Ken Neth Pye and a committee of students players and faculty members on wednes Day. Following the meetings Shumate said he was convinced sum is committed to ensuring that athletes get an Edu cation. " sum officials believe in getting the Job done the right Way because it can be done the right Way. It s tougher it s More difficult but that s what it s All about Shumate said at a news conference at sum. Sum s football program was sus Pended for All of last season by the Mcaa for repeated recruiting violations becoming the first school Ever subject to Shumate the death sum also voluntarily suspended its 1988 season after the Mcaa reduced its schedule to seven games All on the Road. Football scholarships have been trimmed to 15 per year through 1990. Single introduced Shumate an All America Center in 1974 and the Phoenix suns first draft pick later that year As someone who can be a tremendous role be got a Guy that i think can keep us on top of the Southwest conference single said. We want a National the 6-9 Shumate who averaged 21 Points and 12 rebounds per game As a Junior and 24.2 Points and 11 rebounds per game in his senior year for the fight ing Irish said he plans an up Tempo style of play. He described himself As a hands on coach who is not hesitant to gel on the court and show his team How he wants things done. Shumate joins a team on the upswing. The Mustangs won their first outright Sec title last season and their first regu Lar season conference title since 1967 while posting a school record 28 Victo Ries. Shumate retired from the Aba at age 29 in 1980 after seven pro seasons. His career was Cut Short after missing 2 /2 seasons because of a blood clot in his leg. He also missed his Sophomore season at notre Dame because of a blood clot in his lung. In 1983, Shumate was named coach at grand Canyon College in Phoenix Lead ing the antelopes to a 58-33 record be fore he returned to notre Dame in 1986 As an assistant to his former coach dig Ger Phelps. Roux who 111c Luc Tlouga uni " f t m nil supplemental draft features lacklustre field., Conni mental draft will be held before training the teams with the poorest records the most Chanc new York a running Back Brian Davis who one supple Mema an win f h the Atlanta Falcons who had the worst record la flunked out of Pittsburgh and David Hood a nationally ,anj.�� necessary anoint cd 28f we Lac the sup ranked punter in 1985-86 at Tennessee state who did no play last season were among 17 players who will be Avail Able in an nil supplemental draft Are no big names on this year s list unlike last year when Seattle selected All american linebacker Brian Bosworth who opted to turn pro after completing his degree requirements rather than use his Tea year of eligibility at Oklahoma. Nil spokesman Jim Heffernan declined thursday to identify the players who will be available but the associated press Learned that they also include Tennessee kicker an Howfield a walk on who did not play in a varsity game offensive lineman Jerome Mclaurin of Mississippi stat and 13 others from smaller schools or Junior colleges. Under a procedure that went into effect this year one supplemental draft will be held before Camps open and if necessary another before of the regular season. The drafts Are for players who were not eligible for the regular College player draft in april. At least one team the Chicago bears said thursday it does not plan to participate. Spokesmen for the Den ver Broncos and Buffalo Bills indicated it was unlikely their teams will take part. T if a team makes a selection in the supplemental draft it would forfeit a selection in the regular phase of the 1989 draft. Davis a former Parade Magazine High schoo All America player from Washington pa., has not played football since 1985. He sat out two seasons due to poor Erades was readmitted in january but flunked draft will be held As a weighted lottery giving Arn sports television Tennis Wimbledon women s championship 3 . Saturday. Abc s wide world of sports firecracker 400 live and International track and Field 11 30 . Sat Atlanta at Montreal 1 35 . Sunday. Radio baseball Oakland at Toronto 9 . Saturday and Houston at new York mets 1 . Sunday
