European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 10, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 26 the stars and stripes sports thursday december 10, 1992owners centipedes with pistols by George Vecsey they May have 100 feet apiece like some slow moving Little creature but sooner or later these baseball owners Are going to shoot enough of their own feet to bring their game to an ugly halt. They plugged themselves in their pedal extremities once again this week when they voted by a pitiful and Public 15-13 margin to reopen negotiations on collective bargaining with one year left in their contract. Legally the owners had the right to reopen the contract As Long As they notified the players by Friday but their current actions Are the contemporary definition of chutzpah. In the face of a recession they spent All their television Money and now they Are hitting on their labor Force. In the cold ominous wintry air we hear the plea a Stop us before we spend  the owners issued their Call for help through Richard Ravitch who is paid $750,000 a year to be their labor official. By hiring Ravitch they effectively abolished the $650,000-per-year Post of commissioner even before they forced out Fay Vincent in september. Can you imagine a real commissioner allowing a Brazen seven time drug loser like Steve Howe to come swaggering Back to the Yankees As he did on tuesday the Public should now Cut a Deal with baseball if the owners Promise not to insult our intelligence by appointing some poor Lackey to be commissioner then we will treat Ravitch with a modicum of respect As baseball Stop hired gun. Ravitch made sense on monday when he suggested the clubs should find ways to share their local revenues including tickets and Hometown television. He commentary also sounded conciliatory about the owners not want ing a lockout to disrupt the 1993 season. There Are some compelling reasons Why the players association should listen to Ravitch about implementing some kind of salary Cap. But the owners have a lot of nerve whining now that they have blown their $1.45 billion four year income from lbs and esp. The baseball owners were not smart enough to consult the players before going Public about renegotiation but maybe it would not have helped. The newspaper clips from a decade ago suggest that the National basketball association had dreadful finances and Public image while commissioner Larry of Brien and his Bright Young assistant David Stern were hammering out a salary Cap with Larry Fleisher and the players with plenty of Public bombast All around. On March 31, 1983, both sides hit upon a 53-per-Ccnt share for the players which soon revived basketball into the most exciting and Best run North american professional sport. There is no indication a salary Cap in baseball could make up the damage done by Long games rampant artificiality and the Lack of new superstars in baseball but it surely worked for basketball. Occasionally basketball players even agree to have their contracts altered or extended so their club can sign a helpful player. Of course its easier to find common sense when teams have a dozen individualists As in basketball rather than 25 or More players As in baseball. The baseball owners Are currently wielding an economic study which they subsidized that says their profits have dropped 54 percent since 1989. The Economy was certainly bad enough to help topple the Bush regime so the owners Are not alone in their misery but their own Lack of sense has been their biggest problem. Last season a manager nudged me during batting practice and motioned toward a Utility infielder and whispered a the makes $700,000, and i can to use him in More than 40 or 50  the spending disease is catching. The new owners of the san Francisco giants just spent $43.75 million for a six year contract for Barry Bonds which must Gall Bob Lurie. The former majority owner of the giants had to accept $15 million less from a san Francisco group than he was offered from a group in St. Petersburg Fla. The new York fans seem to recognize the need for sanity. I know Yankees fans who Are proud Gene Michael or George Steinbrenner or whoever did not spend that much on Bonds. I you have to wonder where it will end. The worst buy in sports these Days has got to be a 1993 baseball season ticket. As Low As interest rates Are the Banks have got to be a better Deal than lending the Money interest free to a baseball owner who May be plotting a lockout. By the time the owners gave the Money Back for unplayed games the Public would have unwittingly paid for the. Owners lawyers and the owners limousines. The Best plan of action is to take your chances on buying a ticket on opening Day a if and when. Brisk walkup sales As they Call it. In the meantime fans just might hold on to their precious Money and watch the owners keep shooting their own feet. The new York times red wings Bob Probert is at the end of a Chain reaction As Shawn Burr pushes Blackhawk so Greg Gilbert who bumps into  win routinely against jets by the associated press Pittsburgh a it was just another night at the office for Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh penguins three More Points for the no la a leading scorer one More win for its top team. Despite lingering traces of Jet lag from last weeks Cross country trip the penguins still had More than enough to beat the Winnipeg jets 5-2 on tuesday night. Lemieux had a goal and two assists As the penguins won for the eighth time in 10 games but said it was the most routine kind of night. A we did no to find it Loo exciting not for us anyway a Lemieux said. It was a Victor though As backup goaltender Ken arc get made 32 saves in in his sixth Start in 30 games but first since nov. 12. Lemieux increased his nil leading totals to to 32 goals and 78 Points As the penguins upper their record to an nil Best 20-7-3. Lemieux has had at least two Points in 25 of his 29 games this season Ron Francis and Jaromir jagr also had a goal and two assists each As the penguins raised their Home record to 11-1-2. Kevin Stevens broke a 1-1 tie with a Power play goal in the second period. Jagr and Lemieux sandwiched goals around one by Winnipeg a Teemu be Lanne As the penguins took a 4-2 Lead after two periods. Lemieux restored the two goal Lead when he punched in Mullen a pass at 17 31. Francis who has 14 Points in his last seven games added a third period goal. In other games tuesday night Blackhawk 3, red wings 2 Detroit a the red wings lost their fourth straight at Home for the first time in three years As Michel Gouletas third period goal lifted Chicago Over Detroit. Gouletas goal at 12 05 snapped a 2-2 tie. The red wings had a Man advantage for the final three minutes of the game after Chicago a Stephane Matteau received a major and game misconduct for checking Keith Primeau from behind but got Only one shot on goal during the Long Power play. Ray Sheppard and Yves Racine had first period goals for Detroit. Steve Farmer and Dirk Graham also scored for  3, flames 1 Edmonton Alberta a Edmonton ended a six game wingless Streak against rival Calgary As Bernie Nicholls disputed goal in the first period broke a tie. With the flames a Man Short Craig Simpson sent a pass through the crease that hit Nicholls in the skate and went past goaltender Mike Vernon at 17 50 for a 2-1 Lead. Vernon complained to referee Ron Hoggarth who called for a video review but allowed the goal to stand Bill Ranford made 28 saves Quot or Edmonton which had lost three  5, Kings 5 Phoenix Ariz. A Vincent Damp Housse completed a third period hat trick by scoring with 31 seconds to go in the third period to give Montreal a tie in the first nil regular season game Ever played at Phoenix Home of los Angeles top farm team. Damphousse scored three times in the final 7 40 of regulation to rally Montreal from a 5-2 deficit. The Kings Luc Robitaille scored two goals and Paul Coffey had a goal and three assists. The game Drew 12,276 at the Arizona veterans memorial coliseum which seats 13,700 for hockey. Nil