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Show Jordan sticking with his dream SPORTS DIG-E ST Michael fordan sits on the bench yesterday waiting for his turn to bat during an Arizona Fall League gam e for tbe m inor league Scottsdale Scorpions. In his first plate appearance against the Tempe Rafters, fordan watched the third stril<e pass him by. fordan batted .203 with the Birmingham Barons, the Chicago White Sox' dou ble-A farm club, but is trying to h one his skills during the sh ort season in Arizona. The White Sox decided that fordan could use more work and assigned him to a limited roster. Hundreds of fan s ga ther at the ballpark for every gam e to see fordan live out his dreams of playing baseball. Jordan 's advancem ent in baseball could be limited because of the strike. INTRODUCING THE ST. LOUIS RAMS?: St. Louis too k its latest shot at returning to the NFL today when a four-man delegat ion made its formal presentation to the Los Angeles Rams in Anaheim, Calif. Thomas Eagleton, the fo rm er Missouri senator, heads FANS, Inc., a non-profit group, was acco mpanied by a lawyer, a banker and a businessm an. Eagleton said he's convinced the Rams are just as serious about moving. St. Louis leaders believe the city has a substantial edge over Baltimore because its $260 million domed stadium is to be completed in October 1995 . MASSIMINO FORCED OUT OF UNLV: Just two years after Jerry T arkanian was forced out as UNLV's basketball coach, his former top assistant may be replacing Rollie Massimino by the time the Runnin' Rebels open practice Saturday for the upcoming season. Massimino was still officially the coach pending a meeting with the university's interim president. But he sounded much like he was already gone, awaiting only the completion of a Rollie Massimino buyout deal offered by the university. A reported $ 1.5 million buyout agreement is expected of the remaining term of his contract. SAMMY RACHELS WINS LARGEST PRO GOLF TOURNAMENT IN THE WORLD: Sammy Rachels won the PGA C lub C hampionship, beating Darrell Kestner on the second playoff hole. Rachels two-putted for par from 15 feet to win. He fini sh ed with a 72-hole total of I-under-par 284 and earned $32,000 from a total purse of $400,000 in the world's largest all-professional golf tournament - a field of 360 players. Joining Rachels and Kestner in the playoff was 1992 champion Ron McDougal. McDougal was eliminated after the first extra hole. SINGING SWIMMER BREAKS WOMEN'S AND MEN'S RECORDS: A Colorado wo~an who sings while she swims broke both the men's and women's records for swimming across the channel between Santa Catalina Island and the mainland. Karen Burton swam the 22-mile span in 7 hours, 43 minutes and 6 seconds. Her time beat the record of 8:33 set by Penny Lee Dean in 1976, and the men's record of 8: 14.46 set on Sept. 24, 1993, by C had Hundeby. KEMP SIGNS CONTRACT EXTENSION: Shawn Kemp showed up for his first workout of the season three days late, 25 pounds heavier and $20 million richer. Kemp missed three days of practice with the Seattle Supersonics before agreeing to an extension that made his contract worth about $46 million over nine years . Kemp has e ight years remaining on his contract, worth more than $26 million . The latest negotiations produced a I-year extension that includes a " balloon payment" of about Shawn Kemp $20 million for the 2002-03 season . T hat big payoff is expected to balance out this year's $800,000 salary that was part of Kemp's original six-year deal, signed in 1989. Kemp, 24, led the Sonics to a franchisebest 63-19 record last season. He averaged 18.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 2.1 blocked shots last season. THE NBA GOES INTERNATIONAL FOR PRESEASON: The NBA bills its upcoming 11 pre-season games in five countries as another historic step into interna t ional bask etball. There are three in Europe and an NBA record 11 outside the United States this fall. Nine NBA teams w ill fan out for preseason games in Puerto Rico, M exico and two cities in Canada - leading up to the NBA season opener in Yokahama, Japan, between the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trailblazers on Nov. 4 . I NHL season delayed once again By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Hockey owners, all but admitting a full season won't be played, on Tuesday rejected a proposal players hoped would end the lockout that began Oct. 1 and said the entire season might be lost. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman continued to avoid using the term " lockout" following the owners' four-hour meeting, but he wouldn't speculate on when the season might start. Boston Bruins general manager Harry Sindon was pessimistic about a quick settlement. "At this point, you would have to believe it might last all year," he said. "This is a business decision. We can't be spending 20 and 30 percent more on salaries each year until we're tapped out." Union head Bob Goodenow, who presented the players' plan on Monday, said the owners made an "unfortunate decision" and predicted a long fight, much like the one that has paralyzed baseball since Aug. 12. "We see little reason for hope," Goodenow said after the owners rejected the union's latest offer. "The NHL is not interested in the fans, the game or the small-market clubs," Goodenow said. "They are committed to onl y one thing: a major fight with the players." Owners want to eliminate salary arbitration, cap rookie salaries and get what Goodenow called a "confiscatory tax system aimed to operate as a cap on salaries." "Their action every step of the way," Goodenow said, " would lead one to believe they are attacking the players association, no doubt." Owners described the battle as one for the future of hockey. "We think we're fighting for the survival of The NHL," Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider said. "We think we're going into a chaotic state worse than baseball because we have no big TV package. We do not have magical revenues. There is no magic in this business." The lockout became the longest work stoppage in hockey history Wednesday, surpassing the 10-day strike in April 1992. COLLE1GE FOOT·B ALL RANKINGS DIVISION I-A TEAM 1. Florida 2. Nebraska 3. Penn St. 4. Colorado " 5. Michigan 6. Auburn 7. Texas A&M 8. Miami 9. Washington 10. Alabama 11. Florida St. 12. Texas 13 . Colorado St. 14. Arizona 15. No rth Carolina 16. Kansas St. 17. Notre Dame 18. Syracuse 19. Virginia Tech 20. Washington St. RECORD 5-0 6-0 5-0 5-0 4-1 6-0 5-0 4-1 4-1 6-0 4-1 4-1 6-0 4-1 4-1 4-0 4-2 5-1 5-1 4-1 DIVISION I-AA DIVISION II TEAM TEAM REC ORD 1. North Alabama 2. North Dakota State 3. Valdosta State,Ga. 4. Texas A&M-Kings. 5. Pitts. State, Kan. 6. Portland State,Ore. 7. Ferris State 8. NE Missouri St. 9. Centra lOklahoma 10. Carson-Newman tie. Millersville, Pa. 12. Northern Colorado 13. New Haven, Conn. 14. West Chester, Pa. 15. West Georgia 16. UC Davis 17. Indiana, Pa. 18. Albany State, Ga. 19. Sain t Cloud St. 20. Western State, Colo. 4-1 5-0 6-0 4- 1 5-0 4-2 5-0 5-0 6-0 5-1 5-0 5- 1 3-2 5-1 5-1 3-2 3-2 5-1 4-1 4-1 . RECORD 1. Marshall 2. Montana 3. Youngstown St. 4. Idaho 5. McNeese State 6. Troy State 7. William&.. Mary 8. Grambling St. 9. Northern Iowa 10. Boston University 11. BoiseSt. 12. Eastern Kentucky 13. Pennsylvania 14. Southern University 15. Central Florida 16. Western Carolina 17. James Madison 18. AppalachianSt. 19. Western Kentucky 20. StephenF.Austin 6-0 6-0 5-0 5-0 4- 1 4-1 5-1 5-0 4-2 4-1 6-0 4-2 3-0 4-1 4-2 4-2 4-1 4-1 4-2 2-2-1 |