European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 10, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday May 10, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 23 co fam entry commissioner put in difficult position tins May or May not be the week that we learn whether Pete Rose the manager of the Cincinnati reds will go Down in history further in history that is after a glorious baseball playing career with a handful of baseball people from shoeless Joe Jackson to Leo Durocher to Denny Mclain who have suffered the Ignominy of suspension for life or for one year or less for involvement with gambling and baseball. This May or May not be the week in which com missioner a. Bartlett Giamatti makes his decision on the baseball future of Peter Edward Rose. Francis Vincent Deputy to Giamatti. Announced a few Days ago that sometime this week John Dowd would deliver his report from his investigation on whether Pete Rose bet on baseball and bet on the reds. Is this the preliminary report or the final re port Vincent was asked neither he said. It s a  is it a report or the report it s the  docs this mean the investigation is Over let me put it this Way said Vincent. Hell be handing in the report but he won t be handing in his last  this cryptic Little packet of information suggests that All of the evidence that the commissioner would like to have to make a final determination is not there even after several months of an investigation by his office. It May however be enough. The intimation is that a decision will be made this week or next. It s a difficult position Tor the commissioner. Once it was announced in March that his office was conducting the investigation a situation per haps forced by sports illustrated s breaking the Story Giamelli has had to Buffet charges that he was dragging his feet in making a decision that since he assumed the office Only on april i he was hesitant about acting swiftly. Ira Berkow he has been sensitive to that. When two weeks ago for example there were thoughts that a decision might be forthcoming it was written Here that that was Good since Justice delayed is Justice  the commissioner took exception to that saying it was implied that he was delaying Justice. Not so. Of course it would be unjust to Rule before the weight of facts is in. But there can be no denying now that there is a Public perception that Rose is twisting in the wind. As week after week the perception increases so docs the commissioner s eagerness to act. But if no hard evidence no smoking gun. Is uncovered that fingers Rose As having bet on base Ball or the reds then what action can the commissioner take can he summarily throw someone oui of the game for even a year for simply associating with known gamblers As Happy Chandler did to Durocher in 1947? Giamatti says he has Broad Powers. He says that the courts have backed up the Powers that permit a commissioner to do whatever he believes necessary to uphold the Best interests of the game and correctly cited the Case with former com missioner Bowie Kuhn disallowing owner Charles Finley to divest his Oakland a s of its Best players. But if Rose is banished for even a Short period of time and on questionable evidence would the com missioner s Powers hold up if tested in a court of Law though Giamatti has Power it is not totally Arbi tary not unbridled and not As they say in Legal circles Urc viewable by the courts. Each Case must be judged on its merits and so too this one. A judge in Cincinnati meanwhile said thai he thought the commissioner s office was carrying out a vendetta against  Federal judge Carl Rubin was hearing a Case Deal ing with a bookmaker Ron Peters who had Given testimony that he accepted As much Assi million in bets from Rose. Rubin received a confidential letter from Giamatti saying that Peters had cooperated with his office. The letter obviously intended to help lighten the judge s sentence of Peters. To this observer this did not demonstrate a Ven Detta. It indicated that the commissioner had made a not uncommon Deal with Peters to get information. The impression Here is also that Giamatti likes or appreciates. Rose. After Giamatti then National league president suspended Rose last year for 30 Days and fined him $10,000 for bumping an Umpire a decision that was considered by Many to be unduly harsh though it seemed fair Here since umpires must never be physically abused in any Way Giamatti visited Rose in his hotel room in Newyork upon his return to baseball. The two chatted and Giamatti would enjoy relat ing a Story Rose told him. The night before it was Learned that the Umpire Lee Weyer not by the w a the one Rose bumped had died of a heart attack in California. At one Point in the game at Shea stadium Rose had run onto the Field apparently to protest a Call. In fact Rose was telling the first base Umpire Doug Harvey that he knew How close Harvey was with Vic yer and he wanted to Tell him How sorry he was. Last week when Rose was in Montreal a town in which he was once a member of the expos and where he has visited As a player and manager for More than 20 years he was asked if he Ever had a Chance to learn any French Only he said  he pronounced it  the new York Tim Bbrown Kentucky deserve each other by Tony Kornheiser Washington Post Kentucky need t endure any further humiliation trying to hire a basketball coach. There s someone out there who would be perfect for a program about Togo on double secret probation and he d probably jump at the Chance to work there Larry Brown the Vagabond Genius of basketball coaching. Brown would satisfy Kentucky s needs on every level. First of All he s the Best coach available. Why do i say that be cause Brown s a great coach not even his most determined detractors would argue that and he s always available. Brown s debut season with san Antonio was disastrous. For the first time in his coaching career one of his teams finished with a losing record. He quickly wore out his Welcome with the owner and Many of the players. Brown has never needed a Good reason to leave anywhere before and he s got a full Page now. There la be no groundswell of popular opinion to keep him at the spurs. His col lege record if you need reminding is two schools seven seasons three final fours. But what about the fact that soon after Brown left Kansas the Mcaa slapped Kansas with probation Brown was the coach when the violations occurred and he was specifically cited in one instance he bought a recruit a plane ticket Home to attend his grandmother s funeral. Why should Kentucky which is about to be throttled for corruption on a thermonuclear scale hire a coach with a tainted background of his own the poetry of hiring Brown is that it allows both the program and the coach the Chance to do penance. Dearly there is a Public perception that by fleeing Kansas for the Aba Brown escaped the Long Arm of the Law. Would t it satisfy the Public cry to put Brown behind bars if he went to analysis a school that s branded that s declared in eligible for tournament play and to appearances that has its scholarship allot ment Chain sawed and its program monitored like a Jarvik-7? the fishbowl scrutiny is particularly harsh punishment since the secs so notorious for cheating it s the Sec you la recall that gave birth to proposition 42 to avoid unilaterally Dis arming themselves after brother in arms Georgia was required to be academically diligent in Light of the Jan Kemp contre Temps. Kansas sat out one year of the tournament Kentucky s going to sit at least iwo maybe three. Brown would end up doing his time plus some of Eddie Sulton s. Critics can chirp about How Long Brown might stay after the probation but Why should that concern anybody Brown would be seen the program through the drought. If he chooses to get Antsy before the Good times Roll who is he hurting but himself As usual realistically Kentucky in t going to get whom it wants. It tried for Arizona s Lute Olson and was turned Down. It was turned Down too by pm. Carlesimo of scion Hall. Now it s playing footy with Virgini a s Terry Holland who won t go either. Kentucky s offering huge Money reportedly $600,000 a year. But the coaches they re offering it to the coaches on the a list Are already making huge Money. There s no compelling reason for those coaches top 10 coaches like the Krzyzewski the Val Vanos and the Boc Heims not to even mention True untouchables like Knight Thompson and Al drano to take a Job where you re going on probation so you won t be competitive for the top recruits where some of your Holdover players Are going to Transfer out so they can still play on to and in the Mcaa tournament and where from Dav one when you come off probation you la be expected to win the National championship. Kentucky should realign its sights to a promising Young coach from the a list like Kansas state s Lon Kruger South Carolina s George Fallon Evansville s Jim Crews or Xavier s Pete Gillun. If Ken Tucky looks to the pros alumnus Pat Riley would be the wish list candidate. However neither his tailor nor hairstylist May want to relocate. One name that keeps making sense to me is Bill Blair a Ken Tucky native who made the final eight with Vii. Who else can say that some people think Kentucky s new athletics director pm. Newton the hone Stabe of College athletics will end up coach ing Kentucky during the probationary period. The inability to get the coach it wants indicates Kentucky is no longer the pre eminent Job it once was. On the other hand Many believe that Kentucky s a great Job regardless of the rope Burns. They be got a Short Range that will go away very  Jim Boch Cim  no. I thing that s needed for a successful program is fan interest. Nobody has the fan interest Kentucky has. The players will come because it s  be had a 50-year run it s not like they be just been Good the last three or four years. Coaches Aren t going there thinking two or three years there s no move after Kentucky in some ways there s less pressure now. Usually you Dhave to win it All next year. Now you gel a couple of years off to build echoing that sentiment was american University s canny de Tapscott who said it s a two to three year problem. So you sign stipulating that you la get three years biter the probation is Over they la give Youmes Gabuco because they la pay what they need. For three years you re just a caretaker you re a Martyr for even taking the Job. Larry Brown. Justice would be served then you get a few years to do something and you re at Kentucky to do  Tapscott thinks the tone of just How Fine a Job Kentucky still is will be set by the terms of the Mcaa probation. The spectre of a Long stretch has made it easy for coaches to feign disinterest. Watch what happens if it s just two years Tapscott said predicting there la be a lot of Clearing of throats and raising