European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 09, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday february 9,1990 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary pro football Rushing to Europe if you re a football fan. The International league of american football is for you. If you re a military player dreaming of a pro shot inc Ilaf in t for you. Save your Money and Don t bother calling. Tony Jackson a defensive Back with Safe s Lakin Heath eagles wrote asking How he could try out for the Olafs London team. A huddle full of other go players wonder about similar Fame and Fortune. Quit wondering but if you insist Call England 0608-644544 for questions about tryouts. The league will open april 14 with six teams the Lon Don lightning. Birr Ingham bears. Munich Falcons Amsterdam Lions. Helsinki Blue Fox and Barcelona olympics. Each roster will consist of 24 local players and 12 players brought Over from he states. Where does that leave gis yearning for a shot at pro Ball it does t. League spokesman Ross Biddiscombe said wednesday from Birmingham. England gis would be expected to show up 9 to 5 every Day. They d have to be available 24 hours a Day when you take in All the promotional stuff. This is not an Amateur game we re placing Lisa professional  the 12 roster spots saved for . Players  taken. The league held tryouts at various stateside Sites last fall. Go s who could t make it in the National football league showed up. A couple of players who landed on the London team  Willie Totten. The quarterback who clicked with Jerry Rice at Mississippi Valley state and Davis Smith a receiver from Texas Southern. The 24 spots saved for locals   said Biddiscombe. He said the league is committed to devel Oping British players in the . Spanish players in Spain. German players in Germany and so on. Bucky Fox coaching the league is hiring names starting with Walt Michaels at Helsinki. Jack Elway at London and Ray Willocy at Birmingham. Michaels coached the new York jets. Elway at Stanford and Willsey at Cal. Elway s staff includes defensive coordinator Otto Kofler. A former assistant at Stanford and offensive coordinator Jack Swarthout a former Montana head Couch. No Safe coach need apply. This Ilaf sounds like an aggressive outfit. Carroll Huntress former jets scout and now Ilaf commissioner bore his football baby just last year. Already he has lined up stadiums London at Stamford Bridge stadium and Birmingham at Villa Park with Munich Amsterdam and Helsinki at olympic stadiums. The league is negotiating a to contract with eur sport. With Hopes of latching on to local to. When the league opens in nine weeks each team will play 12 games ending june 30. Followed by playoffs. The league plans for Rome and Milan to Field teams in 1991 after they dropped out tuesday. Two other cities would join next year possibly Dussel Dorf Frankfurt or Dublin. Come 1992, the Ilaf wants a 16-Tcam format with mention of Moscow. So much football so fast. I the Ilaf is John Taylor scoring fast then the world league of american football is Bubba Paris big and hanging Back. The world league originally hoped to kick off this Spring. When it saw the logistical Maze the league pushed Back its opener to 1991. Help came from to tuesday with  announcing a package Worth about $30 million for two years. Touchdown. The world league has network to. Plus nil backing. It s a sure Winner despite the fact that last year league officials ran into roadblocks Landing european stadiums. With the Ilaf sacking of player Hopes what about the world league it s More Bleak. Nearly All players in the world league will come from . Training Camps. Teams will sport a Post College look. Both Spring leagues might still have a tinge of air Force Blue. That s because former Tilburg Star Phil Bivens is ready to leave College and go pro. If he can t make it in the nil he could iry for Europe. Bivens was an All Csc defensive end at Pitburg in 1983 and 84. After leaving the air Force he entered Anglo state in Texas. He did t amass big numbers in his four seasons but did get big. He s fr-foot-3. 260 pounds. He threw that weight around for six tackles in his last game Angelo stale s 34-16 loss to Jackson Ville state in the division i semifinals. Can Bivens make it in the nil Anglo state coach Jerry Vandergrif said no nil team will Likely draft him. But i d say he has a real Good Chance to show up somewhere As a free agent and maybe Latch on As a free agent that  Bivens is 27. Too old he could Point to another Anglo state product. Pierce Holt the defensive tackle who won a Job with the san Francisco 49crs As a 26-year-old Rookie in 1988. If the nil says no Bivens could end up Back in Europe. That s no Consolation for gis who want to play pro football. It is Good news for fans who want to Sec decent football. Tim surs and sir pct mailman offers whole package by Bob Black Salt Lake City a five years ago. When Rookie Karl Malone threw the Ball from 24 feel his teammates would flinch. Now. When the Utah a did the former Louisiana tech Star become one of the Aba s Premier musclemen. But he also conquered the foul line and added distance to his repertoire. Sunday he will return to the All Star Iamb for inc third straight year. The firs couple of years when he look one. Everybody would kind of  coach Jerry Sloan said of Malone s 3-Point shooting. Now we Don t feel bad at All. He looks like he s right on line and it s a pretty Good  Malone is the main reason Utah is driving for its second straight 50-win season and midwestern division title. The Jan s emergence into the Aba s upper Echelon coincides with Malone s move into he league s elite. Certainly he s the Backbone of our  said former coach Frank Layden. We Pride ourselves on having great camaraderie and everybody knowing what their role is. His role is to gel rebounds and score Points which obviously in t the easiest thing in the world to  Malone who became Louisiana tech s no. 3 All Lime scorer in just three seasons has always made the game look easy. Combining the strength Speed and soft hands of a top flight tight end. Malone the league s no. 2 scorer behind Chicago s Michael Jordan employs a whole court offence. It s not unusual to Sec him grab a re bound snap an outlet pass to Point guard John Stockton and take a return pass that turns him. At full stride into one of the most irresistible forces in inc game. When the jazz work for a shot inside More often than not Malone Muscles into the Lane for a score sometimes carrying a pair of defenders with him. When he got the Ball you did t de fend him said Auburn coach Tommy Joe eagles an assistant at Louisiana tech during Malone s tenure and still a close Friend. You either fouled him or he  with Malone s improvement at the foul line opponents can ill afford to Trade free throws for Field goals. In his first year with the jaz Malone shot Only 48 percent from the foul line. Now he tops 70 percent. That s one of Many  Sloan said. His free throw shooting is Proba Bly the most glaring improvement he s made. We talked to him about it when he first came Here Only to offer Subtle Little hints. But he deserves the credit for All that he has  another reason Malone has been a hit in the Aba is Stockton who. Like Malone comes from a Small school. At Gonzaga. In Spokane. Wash., Stockton averaged 20.9 Points a game his senior year and became the first Gonzaga player to score 1,000 Points with 500 or More assists. Stockton was drafted by the jazz in 1984, but it was t until a year later when Malone was picked 13th in the first round that the Malone Stockton Bond was sealed. Just As Malone expanded the definition of Power Forward the slight Stockton has become inc most prolific assist Man in the league and will Start for the West on sunday. Last year Stockton set the Aba single season assist Mark with 1, 128, breaking de troit s Isiah Thomas record of 1,123. I think we help each other out Malone says dead panning the understatement. I think they complement each other very Well and that s what should Hap  Sloan said. Malone helps Stock ton in certain areas and Stockton helps Marionc in other  the relationship is nothing new to Marionc. At Louisiana tech Wayne Smith was Malone s Stockton setting the school record for career assists in 1985. That s kind of How Karl and i were Smith said. It s Sweet to Sec it happen. Our talents complemented each other. Everybody at Louisiana tech had the same attitude that the Utah team has now. He wants to win the division and he wants to gel to the Aba finals. Team things seem to take precedence Over individual things to  Smith said. At Louisiana tech Marionc and Smith took the team to the Mcaa s Sweet 16 and had visions of reaching the final four. But Oklahoma s Wayman Tisdale ended that idea with a Shol at the Buzzer that the folks in Ruston still can see Roll ing repeatedly around the rim. Like Malone Smith had Hopes of an Aba career. But the Best he could Man age was a year in the Continental Basket Ball association before turning to High school coaching. My whole dream was to get there my self Smith said. The Only Way i can be there now is through Karl. That s my whole shot now being that i did t make  eagles at Auburn says Marionc is a once in a lifetime player who has a great combination of quickness and  at Louisiana tech and the Southland conference he would not Only Lead our team in scoring and rebounding but he would also Lead our team in  said eagles. He runs like a Deer and he has the size of an elephant. He s just so big and Strong and when he plays around the Basket you look at him and say this Guy can t do what i be just seen him do " Malone s finest Aba hour came at last year s All Star game where he scored 28 Points in the West s Victory. This year the fans did not vote him to the starting roster a snub he admits Hurt him deeply. At first he said he would use the weekend for a fishing trip to Louisiana. But after the coaches unanimously named him to the West squad. Malone decided to go to Miami but without the goal of repealing his map performance. All i want to do is go Down there and play and have a Good  he said. You Don t go Down there thinking about winning the map. You just go Down there and have a Good time. If it happens it  the All Star voting that placed Laker forwards James worthy and . Green ahead of Marionc was ill received in All Star Forward Karl Malone. Aba s no. 1 scorer Northwestern Louisiana. Keith Prince who was tech s sports information director when Malone played in Ruston. Said residents closely follow the jazz because of Marionc. Not because the Utah franchise began 350 Miles to inc South in new Orleans. I Don t think we related that much to new Orleans Prince said. To us. The Jau we think of Here in Ruston. La., started with Karl Marionc. There s no doubt that the reason we look up their scores in the paper in the morning is be cause of Karl Marionc. Sports fans Over a cup of Coffee nine times out of 10, will keep up with what Karl did last  some make the 260-mile trip to Dallas when Utah plays there just to see the mail Man