European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 4, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Wednesday May 4, 1994 sports the stars and stripes Page 33i by Dan Barreiro since the nil draft there have been 2,378 report cards produced by newspapers magazines radio stations draft Niks and other forms of crustacean life. Quot /. _. There has been nothing in All this football foaming of the Mouth that has answered with any satisfaction one Sim pie question How does Charlie Ward not get drafted in a league so desperate for quarterback Talent that it keeps giving Sec commentary Ond and third chances to the Everetts har Baughs and Mcmahon How does the most exciting player in College football last year go ignored for 222 selections in a league so starved for quarterback stars that it gives $5 million Ward up front to. Scott Mitchell who has never even started for an entire season How does an intriguing Talent and accomplished performer such As Ward sit there for seven rounds the answers Are race arrogance and stupidity not in that order. There will be knee Jerk indignation that this is simply a racial matter further proof that the nil still views Black College quarterbacks As athletes rather than quarterbacks there is still some truth to this. There is still a tendency in the nil to judge and compare Black quarterbacks in relation Only to other Black quarterbacks. So Ward must be compared Only to say an Andre Ware. But this May be less about race than it is arrogance. This is a league not unlike the Aba that is far too obsessed with prototypes. Teams spend so much time measuring weighing poking prodding and timing a player that you wonder whether they Ever ask the More pertinent question How does the Guy play in games. At just under six feet without a Cannon Arm Ward does not fit the prototype. All he can do is play. But nobody deemed him worthy. Y nil spin doctors will Tell you that twas wards own warning that made him drop off the charts. He told nil teams that if they did not intend to take him in round one riot to bother. Ward has other options the Aba or maybe even the Canadian football league. There Are two problems Here. There were teams for which Ward should have been Worth a first Rounder. He has that kind of Talent. He played for Florida state a learn that every year plays the toughest schedule in America and against teams that designed their defences specifically to Stop him. In the right kind of offence Ward could be a Star. Some have questioned whether he can adapt to the pro style offence. They should not wonder. He is gifted and intelligent. V and even with wards warning to the nil it still boggles the mind that no team would spend a meaningless no. 7 Choice on Ward. Maybe he does no to get selected As High in the Aba draft Asne thinks. Maybe he changes his mind and decides to give it a shot in the nil. Maybe he signs with a gel team has some Success and then wants to go on to the nil. Not one team in the league wanted to have his rights just in Case Quot this is the second consecutive year in which the Heisman trophy Winner was accorded Little respect by the nil. But Here a the Point somebody namely the Minnesota Vikings decided Gino Tor Retta was Worth taking in the seventh round. What did the Vikings Tell us at the time Torretta might not fit the nil prototype but he was a Winner who had accomplished enough on the College level to take a Chance on him in the late a . A a the jury is still out on Torretta but the. Vikings think enough of him right now that he is Only a torn ligament away from being their starter. If Torretta a winning credentials made him Worth a look in round seven then surely wards winning credentials not to mention his Superior mobility made him Worth a even closer look. There is no spin doctoring rid finessing no rationalizing that can explain the a Fly a reluctance to do so. Some teams that reportedly would have taken Ward in the second or third round backed off because they had been told he would be a Low no 1 Choice in the Aba draft and they could not possibly offer him the kind of Money that the Aba would. The opinion Here is that Ward is nothing More than a slightly above aver age College basketball player with a much better Chance to be an Impact player in the nil than in the Aba. But the slap in the face Ward received by not being drafted May work to his advantage now if he changes his mind about basketball he can negotiate with any nil team rather than be stuck with the team that drafted him. This is assuming that the Stuffy nil is Stilt interested in a Guy who can play the game. Minnta Pollut St. Paul Star Tribuna a league on corporate backing n v k a a by Hal Bock new York apr consider the possibilities the Anheuser Busch six packs. The Disney Fedex packages. A number of Fortune 500 companies with $10 million or so in spare Petty Cash Are considering creating a new professional football league to provide instant advertising for their products. The venture first reported in Brand week a marketing newsweekly is known for the moment As the a league. It plans to have franchises underwritten by corporations like Federal express Anheuser Busch and the Walt Disney. Company. Teams would play in the Headquarters cities of the companies a Memphis for Fedex St. Louis for Anheuser Busch Anaheim for Disney and Wear uniforms with company colors and logos. Among the. Most interested in the idea is lbs which lost its nil broadcasting rights to Fox last december and faces a season without football programming for the first time in 38 years. A Over the past several months lbs has been approached by a number of entities interested in starting a professional football league in the fall oily amp of the network said in a statement. A one group led by Mike Lynn former s executive vice president of the Minnesota it Vikings has been especially impressive % with respect to its efforts and prospective f ownership constituency. We look Forward to continuing discussions with Lynn commissioner of the failed world league of american football has been working with longtime television executive Jim Spence on the new venture. A a it a a terrific concept a Spence said. A when it was broached to me As a to Guy it addressed All that comes to mind a credibility viability and financial commitment. The corporate involvement lends instant credibility and addresses Lon term viability. A the companies we be discussed this with think its a terrific marketing Federal express confirmed meetings to discuss the new league but emphasized no commitments have been made. A a we re looking at this Opportunity As we would any other sports marketing of Portuni said Mike Glenn senior vice president of marketing arid corporate communications. / a fall of our sports marketing sponsorships must deliver outstanding results and. Any new venture we would consider would have to do the Michael j. Roarty executive vice president of Anheuser Busch called the discussions a very preliminary at this time the a league would begin play in 1995 with a dozen franchises and Spence said it would Battle the establishment nil for players and attention. X a if the league is to be successful there will have to be a number of top Quality players in the league a he 2-year Deal Kansas City to. Al it the Kansas City chiefs got some backup Protection for Joe Montana on monday by signing quarterback Quot Steve Bono to a two year chiefs sent a future draft pick to the san Francisco 49ers for Bono a Veteran in his 10th year. A the obvious is that the of Steve Bono gives the chiefs added insurance at the very important quarterback position a chiefs general manager Carl Peterson said in a statement. Bono 31, spent five years with the 49crs, two with Pittsburgh and two with Minnesota. The 6-foot-4,215-Pounder has played in 40 games starting nine completing 266 of 479 passes for 3,114 Yards with 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in san Francisco Bono backed up Montana and Steve Young. Last season he played in eight games completing 39 of 61 passes for 416 Yards no touchdowns and one interception. Bonous experience helps the chiefs whose other backup quarterback Matt Blundin has seen almost no playing time. Bono recently re signed with the 49ers, a team he joined As a free agent in 1989. Laser Karaoke every tuesday at 7 pm free mexican Buffet 7-8 30 Topper club pm shopping Complex Frankfurt for More information Call 320-5 Hgt it it
