European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 9, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Nil s old timers frolicking like Colts  n add wet Cpd Byberry Wilner a sports writer old who Are you calling old not  Leahy or Jackie Slater or Mike Webster. Not Carl Hairston or Steve Grogan. Veterans yes. Wizened and experienced certainly. But old hey these Guys have made it into a third decade in professional football out distancing the average nil career three fold. Leahy 39, still kicks Field goals with regularity for the new York jets. Slater 36, is the rams Best offensive lineman and Webster 38, is the kind of Leader in the locker room every budding contender requires. The chiefs surely fall into that category. Hairston 37, now with Phoenix Hasni to lost much of his sacking skills and Grogan also 37, remains the answer at quarterback for the new England patriots. What is the secret to their longevity a a combination of conditioning and the fact that in be been Able to stay healthy a says Webster the Center with All four of Pittsburgh a super bowl champions and now sort of a player coach in Kansas City in his 17th season. A the league has outgrown me size Wise but experience helps a lot. And you be got to remember i did no to make any Money until my 12th year in the league. A plus thick headed Ness i  How Long can they go on in the most physical of sports a a in la play As Long As i think i can help them and they think i can help them a says Grogan a starter for nearly All of his 16 seasons in new England. A a it a just something that i enjoy doing and in a Good at it. I know its not going to last forever anyway so i figure ill make it last As Long As i  lasting in the nil rarely happens by design. No matter How fit you Are or How experienced you May be too Many things beyond your control can happen. Someone misses a Block Grogan is sacked and injures his shoulder. A Blocker performs a crack Back on Hairston and gets him right in the knee. Maybe an opponent storms in to Block Leahy a kick and runs Over the placekicker. Perhaps Slater tries to pull on a trap play and pulls apart his leg instead. Or a nose tackle on his Way to the quarterback rams websters helmet sideways through his nose. A injuries Are your biggest enemy a Leahy admits. A i can handle the pressure and what is needed from me. But i can to account for the  a a in be been Lucky Over the years As far As injuries Are concerned a says Hairston who has starred for Philadelphia Cleveland and Phoenix. A i know How to play the position and keep my legs Strong and stay away from Cut  in 1984, he underwent knee surgery in the of season and now wears a Brace on his left leg. Slater the Anchor of one of the a Fly a consistently Leahy Grogan Slater Webster Strong offensive lines credits the surroundings in Southern California As much As anything for his longevity. A i think first and Foremost in be been blessed by god a he said. A a in be been free from injury and in be been blessed with a situation where its been conducive to longevity. A i had no idea id play this Long. There were times when i actually thought id not make the team because my skill level Wasny to Good enough. There were some rough times Early on. But i kept fighting and Here i  Here All five of them Are playing near or at the level that established them in the nil. Eric Dickerson once said gaining yardage with Slater As a Blocker was a like  Chuck Noll called Webster a was smart a player As in be been associated  Bruce Coslet who joined the jets As coach this sea son describes Leahy As a the ultimate pro. He a or. Dependable which is just what you want from a kicker. And everybody likes  you done to have to be liked to survive however. Grogan went from the Peoples Choice to the Guy standing in the Way of Tony Eason and Doug Flutie in Foxboro. Funny but it was Grogan who survived. A people have been saying for three or four years that a he a Over the Hill or a he a too old or whatever a Grogan said. A you Start hearing that enough and you Start wondering if you should believe it. But i just keep forcing those thoughts out of my mind and coming  hell have to make another comeback this year after being sidelined the last two weeks with a neck problem. While he was out Marc Wilson replaced him and the patriots offence was horrendous. Of course having to watch from the sidelines is nothing new for Grogan. Among his injuries a a 1988 herniated disc in the neck that was pinching a nerve to his throwing Arm and required surgery a head Back neck injuries and a fractured left hand in 1987 a tendinitis in his right Elbow in 1986 a a fractured leg and serious ligament damage in his left knee the preceding year a a broken leg in 1983 a neck and knee injuries in 1980 and �?T81. Not a pretty legacy yet Grogan still is around. Next on the seniority list among nil quarterbacks is Steve Deberg who has had to survive a different series of setbacks throughout his 14-Ycar career a having Joe Montana John Elway and Vinny Testa Croc placed in his Way. On the other end of the health spectrum is Webster. A just a dislocated Elbow once a Webster says. A plus anything else you have a you be heard the old saying the injuries Are major if they re yours and they re minor if they re anybody  while these old timers serve As inspiration to younger players hoping for careers half As Long the veterans have their hero too. A i know i can still contribute a Hairston says. A Page is a number. Its not How old you Are. Its if you have the heart and will to play the game. If i did no to feel capable of playing the game i would have retired a Long time ago. A you have to enjoy the sport. You have to enjoy the Competition. You have to be dedicated. Look at Mike Webster. He a been playing 17 years. You go As far As you want to go. A i prepared myself to play in this league this Long and i Haven to lost the desire to play. I Haven to set a limit. Ill see what happens next year and How i feel. Hey maybe i can play until in a 40. George Blanda did  nudges Mears in Bosch by Mike Harris a motor sports writer Nazareth a. A Emerson Fittipaldi out dulled Rick Mears for Victory sunday in the Bosch spark plug grand prix a Palm a saw Unser or. Win his first it pig cup championship despite crashing hard Midway through the 200-Lap event at Pennsylvania International raceway. Unser 28, was taken to a Hospital in Easton pa., for a precautionary cat an on his head after he walked away irom a three car crash with what cart tors called a mild concussion. Vols Al a second generation indy car  to finish sixth or better Sun Najr a Nch the $400,000 season Champi Roo pm f Esthol won the title with one the a try Mai Hig when Michael Andretti him / dryer with a Chance of  problems and Fittipaldi Mears Penske racing   As dominant most of the race on the tight one mile Tri Oval. Pole Winner Bobby Rahal led the first 50 laps with Mears and Fittipaldi close behind. Mears drove his Chevrolet powered Penske racer into the Lead on Lap 51, and Fittipaldi in an almost identical car moved past Rahall a Lola Chevrolet to take second place the next time around the Tri Oval. Fittipaldi the defending race and series Champion then set his sights on Mears stalking him for several moments before easily slipping past and taking the Lead heading into the first turn on Lap 53. The brazilian also a two time formula one Champion actually lapped the second place Mears on Lap 87, but both Mears and Rahal got Back on the Lead Lap during a series of caution Flag pit stops later in the race. Caution flags were a big Story sunday with five of them slowing Fittipaldi a winning Speed to 112.70 Mph. Tony Bettenhausen walked away without injury after hitting the Wall in turn two after banging wheels with Guido Sacco of Italy on Lap two. On Lap 112, Unser was setting up the lapped cars of Arie Luyendyk and Danny Sullivan for a pass in turn three when Luyendyk and Sullivan crashed sending Luyendyk a car into Unser a Lola and sliding both of them hard into the Wall. Sullivan said a i tried to get out of the Way and Luyendyk wanted a bit of the Road i was racing  Luyendyk blamed Sullivan saying a Danny started Down and moved to the left to let us by. Then he moved Back up and hit  in any Case it ended the race for All three and sent Unser to the Hospital while the race played out and gave him the championship he nearly won in 1985 when he lost to his father four time Indianapolis 500 Winner a1 Unser by one Point. On Lap 141, Michael Greenfield slammed into the Wall heading towards turn one and had to be pried out of his car by safety workers. Or. Steve Olvey the cart medical director said Greenfield was knocked unconscious in the crash but was awake and Alert when he was placed in the ambulance. Olvey said the Driver from Freeport n.y., also had an unspecified injury to his right Arm but added a we done to suspect any other significant  Mears was right behind Fittipaldi when the final caution Flag waved for debris on the track on Lap 186. The Green Flag came Back out on Lap 192 and the nine Lap sprint to the finish saw Fittipaldi barely hold off a desperation try by Mears winning the Battle by Only 37-hundredths of a second. It was Fittipaldi a 12th career indy car Victory. Rahal finished third a Lap off the winners Pace followed by Mario Andretti and another Lap Back by Michael Andretti his son and teammate. A crowd estimated at 30,000 watched the race run in Bright Sunshine and unseasonable temperatures in the Low 80s