European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 20, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 30 the stars and stripes sports thursday october 20,1994 a vote for Eric Zeier by Joe Posnanski Scripps Howard news service funny thing about1 the Heisman trophy is nobody really understands it. The thing was a door stopper for Jay Berwanger the first Heisman win Ner and now it s somewhat More cherished than the Nobel peace prize and still nobody knows exactly what intakes to win a Heisman. Supposedly the Heisman is Given tothe nation s most outstanding College commentary football player a phrase about As vague As the right to Bear  what the Heck makes a football player most outstanding last year s Winner was Charlie Ward who was most outstanding except he was not even taken in the nil draft. In that draft Dan 1 Fiig daddy Wilkinson was deemed most outstanding. Perhaps he should have won the Heisman. Perhaps he should think first about getting an nil sack. For a while the Heisman went to the nation s most outstanding Colleg football player who happened to be attending notre Dame. Then they started giving it to the nation s most outstanding College football player who happened to be named Archie Griffin. And in recent times they have Bro Ken Down and simply Given the award to the player who gets on esp the most. Strange How the nation s most out standing player has never been a defensive player never played on the offensive line and never gone to a school not big enough to be division i a. But that s the Heisman trophy an award so big that Joe Theismann changed the pronunciation of his name just for notre Dame s Theis Mann for Heisman Campaign. This year the Heisman race is wide open. We know this because on every Channel including the English Chan Nel men and women with perfect hair keep telling us that the Heisman race is wide open v -.". Lots of candidates. Alcorn state s Steve Mcnair runs up those big num Bers against Mcneese state. Michi Gan s Tyrone Wheatley runs brilliantly except on third and one when Michigan coach Gary Moeller decides to Bench him. Napoleon Kaufman Rolls up big Yards while Washington meets regularly with its probation offi car. -.-. Here s a different kind of Choice for file Eric Cir. Georgia Leader you though. Eric Zeier arrived at the University of Georgia a few Days after his expectations. His first Day at the school there were Welcome Eric signs littered around Athens a. His first game a Guy named Greg Talley started at quarterback and the crowd booed and booed until Ray Goff let the kid play. Zeier rhymes with fire threw a touchdown pass. The City had fallen in love. The marriage has lasted for four years and it has indeed been a marriage full of Romance and Heartbreak and glory and sadness. Zeier has taken Georgia to bowl games he has won bowl games but he has never beaten despised Florida. He has broken More records than the moral majority but he has not won a National championship As he and the fans so desperately wanted. He has been applauded and cursed revered and ripped and so it goes for the quarterback of a state where foot Ball is both religion and life. \ this year Zeier is simply the Best quarterback in America. He does t Al ways look that Way because Georgia s defense has a Little trouble stopping the run and the pass and also the bulldogs can t run the football much at All and also Georgia loses quite often but be Lieve it. Zeier throws touch passes unlike any body in College football. He drops foot balls gently into receivers hands. Then in the next moment he splits two de fenders with a 20-Yard screamer Over the Middle. He makes Quick decisions Calls audibles screams out blocking schemes. He coaches and coaxes and leads be cause he believes that s the Job of a quarterback and also the Guy is the leading passer in the history of the Sec a conference where Namath and Tarkenton and Stabler and Spurrier once played football. And More than All that he has changed football in the South. He has come to a school where a trick play used to be pitch left instead of pitch right and be has completed More passes than anyone in conference Histo  has led the team through bad times and Good. He s an a student careful to sign every autograph careful to never say anything bad in the news papers the kind of Guy you Don t see much anymore in the High stepping sack dancing world. He believes in being a hero. So he is a hero. When Georgia trailed Alabama in Tuscaloosa ala., with 1 12 left this sea son the camera focused in on Zeier s face. He was smiling. He could not wait to get on the Field. I love being in that situation he says that s what this game is All about. I would t mind being in that situation every week. I fully expected to win that  Georgia did not win. A receiver dropped a pass then Zeier threw Over another s head and the game was Over. When practice began the next Mon Day though Zeier showed up and prac tired hard and put the past away even though he was dying inside. You can t let up Zeier says. Peo ple can sense it when you  Georgia won the next week. Nobody really knows what the heis Man trophy Means or who deserves it but know this. There May be players on better teams and players with better statistics. There in t anybody in the country More outstanding than Zeier to Posnansky is a column isl for the Cincinnati Terry Pendleton. No s map in 1991 Pendleton told he s not needed Atlanta a Veteran third baseman Terry Pendleton s career wit the Atlanta braves is Over. The team announced tuesday that i would not offer Pendleton 34, salary arbitration making him a free agent for next season. Pendleton was named the National league s most valuable player in 1991,his first season with the braves. It was t surprising but it was nevertheless a sad circumstance for both of us braves general manager John Schuerholz said. Here is a Guy who had been left for dead As a player in St. Louis and was Given rebirth in Atlanta and not Only did Nis career revive itself he was Amajor player in the transition of the braves into champions. But now youth has to be served. Their time has  Schuerholz said that with promising Young players coming up financial com fitments to other players and salaries running so rampant and out of control we had no  Pendleton was looked upon As the spark plug who took the braves from three consecutive last place finishes in1988-90 to the world series in 1991. Robinson $60 million Deal Milwaukee a the Milwaukee Bucks Are offering to make Glenn Robinson a $60 million Man and Don look for them to work a Trade for the Aba s top draft pick if they can t reach a contract Agre rent. There s a greater Chance of Madonna starting at Point guard open ing nigh than of a Trade for Glenn Robinson Bucks vice president John Steinmiller said As Robinson the team outlined its contract offer tues Day. The Bucks departing from the club policy of secrecy on salary negotiations said they were offering a 9-year Deal at a guaranteed $60 million. They said Robin son wants 13 years and $100 million. I Hope at some Point sanity will come into play coach Mike Dunleavy said. Robinson the nation s leading collegiate scorer with Purdue last season has missed the first two weeks of training amp. Dunleavy made the club s latest offer to Robinson last week Robinson and his agent or. Charles Tucker countered with a proposal for an inflexible 13years""and $100 million Steinmiller said. We feel it is unreasonable Steinmiller said. Tucker said later that he was t both ered by the Bucks holding their own briefing. They have the right to tic what they want to do he said. As for Why no agreement has been reached he said apparently everything is not the Way that Glenn thinks it should  Tucker has never confirmed that Rob Inson wants $100 million but has said he s seeking a lifetime Deal. Steinmiller called the club s offer the highest Ever made to an Aba  it does t have As Many years or dollars As some deals it does have More years and dollars guaranteed than another Steinmiller said. It is aggressive. We feel it reflects How we feel about Glenn Robinson and his importance to this organization Steinmiller said. Glenn Robinson de serves such an  the Bucks normally Don t discuss con tracts publicly but Dunleavy said the team needed to set the record straight for fans. Steinmiller said releasing contract details in t meant to pressure Robinson. Etc act Calls for a firs year salary of $2.9 million and goes up by the Maxi mum 30 percent each year that the Aba allows. Steinmiller stressed the pact is guaranteed with no incentive clauses or performance goals. The proposal includes a club option for a 10th year that would bring the value to$68.1 million. Steinmiller called the offer significantly above Market  he said the team has come up from its original offer but is at its upper limits financially. As we know there is a limit to the risk we could take for our franchise Steinmiller said. . Sen. Herb Kohl a wis who owns the franchise has said he won t agree to a $100 million contract. Dunleavy said Robinson was hurting himself by holding out and not benefiting rom training Camp. I m disappointed More than anything with what this will do to Glenn Robinson the player and the person Dunleavy said. J it d or be