f ;v- P agi A8 BRIEFS R eport: R idd ick B ow e w as “p ro b lem ” re c ru it Fonner heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe reportedly was "problem recruit" who was dis charged alter nine days in the Marine Corps reserves not be cause he wanted out but because he "refused to train." Major Rick Long, a spokesman at the Marine Corps' Parris Island boot camp, told the W ash in g to n Post ir Tuesday’s editions that the Ma rine Corps officials believe Bowe deliberately behaved in a way that left them little choice but to dis charge him S te e le rs ’ Rod W oodson has kn ee surgery V eteran c o rn e rb a c k Rod Woodson of the Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly had knee surgery some time in the past two weeks. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported Tuesday that W oodson, currently an unrestricted free agent, under went the operation on his right knee. The nature of the proce dure, perf ormed at Vail, Colorado by Doctor Richard Steadman, is unknown. Steelers spokesm an Ron Miller said the team has not talked to Woodson since the Pro Bowl, but would not deny the re port. Jets, LB P epper Johnson ag re e to te rm s Bill Parcells has tapped an other former New York Giant to help him rebuild the New York Jets. The Jets Tuesday conf irmed various reports that the team has agreed to terms with linebacker Pepper Johnson. Terms were not disclosed, but ESPN is reporting that Johnson will receive a one- year contract. The 32-year-old Johnson, who spent the 1996 sea son with the Detroit Lions, played for Parcells with the Giants from 1986-90 and was part of two Su per Bowl championship teams. A fter Parcells stepped dow n, Johnson remained with the Gi ants through the 1992 season. Johnson is expected to serve as a backup to the injury-plagued Marvin Jones F ebruary 26, 1997 VIKINGS RELEASE WARREN MOON The Minnesota Vikings released eight-time Pro Bowl quarterback Warren Moon on Friday, less than four months after signing him to a three-vear. $15 million contract ex tension Moon’s days with the Vikings have been numbered ever since De cember 20th, when the team signed quarterback Brad Johnson to a four- year, $15 million contract. The 40-year-old Moon, acquired three years ago in a trade with the Houston Oilers, completed just over 54 percent o f his passes last season for 1.610 yards with seven touch downs and nine interceptions. He began the year as M innesota’s start ing signal-caller, but suffered a right ankle injury in the first half o f the season-opener against Detroit. "Looking back, the trade for War ren was excellent for our team ,” Vikings vice president Jeff Diamond told the Minneapolis Star Tribune in Sunday ’s editions. "G oing in we expected we would have Warren for two years It turned out to be three years and he’d probably still be here if he hadn’t gotten hurt.” Moon returned for a 20-14 vic tory at Chicago in Week Three, but Johnson won the job for good on October 28th after coming o ff the bench in a 15-13 loss to the Bears. Moon is fourth on the National Football League’s all-time list in passing yards (43.569) and comple- tio n s(3 .5 14). He spent the last three years with Minnesota after 10 sea sons with the Oilers. The former University o f Washington star be gan his pro career in the Canadian Football League, playing six sea sons with the Edmonton Eskimos. "W arren did some great things for us. He helped us win a division title in ’94, re-wrote our record book, made the Pro Bowl twice and led two o f the best offenses w e’ve had here." Diamond added In ¡995, Moon became the first Baseball players warned M ajor league b a se b a ll’s c h ie f o f secu rity has bro u g h t his a n nual w arning to p lay ers: w atch out for scam s, g a m b le rs and stalk ers. "T h ese young men are really focused on b aseb all, and I’m th e ir in su ran ce m a n ," K evin H allinan said M onday as he m ade his p re se n ta tio n to the M ilw a u k e e B re w e rs s p r in g train in g cam p. "W e w ant to lim it th e ir d is tractio n s. A lot o f th ese guys are going into c itie s for the firs t tim e and are u n a w a re ab o u t w hat the local c rim e p ic ture may be. "W e w ant them to be se n sitiv e to c h a ra c te rs trying to get clo se to them , even th e ir fa m ilie s." H allinan w as hired I I y ears by th e n - c o m m is s io n e r P e te r U eberroth a fte r 25 y ears as a N ew Y ork C ity police o ffic e r, the last five w ith an a n ti- te r r o r ist unit. He said each m ajor league city has a "re sid e n t a g e n t,” a m em ber o f a local law en fo rc e m en t a g en cy w ho keeps tabs on his team and a ssista n ts in security COGNAC HENNESSY BLACK SKIFEST ’97 Black SkiFest ’97 has been joined for its second annual event by Cognac hennessy as title sponsor. In announc ing their sponsorship for the second year, Hennessy spokesman Ken Wyatt, Senior Marketing Brand Manager Says, "I am delighted for Cognac hennessy to be a pail of such a positive and unique event. The African Ameri can skier is an adventurous, fun lov ing type of person and we want to be associated with this type of quality event.” Last year, at Black SkiFest 96, over 5(X) African American ski ers were in Sun Valley. African American SkiFest is in Sun Valley, Idaho March 29 thru April 5, 1997. The Sun Valley resort was selected because of its reputa tion as the number one ski resort in the United States for 1996 by readers o f ’Ski Magazine."Cooperation from the Sun Valley. Ketchum Chamber of Commerce greatly enhanced the experience. Black SkiFest ’97 is a whirlwind week of activities. Skiers will have one of the premier mountains to ski O ff the slope activities include snow mobiles, dog sled rides and a mid night horse drawn wagon dinner sleighride in the crisp mountain air make it a unique setting. The outdoor heated pool party & wine sip. at the famous Sun Valley Lodge, is a great mixer. The entertainment for Black SkiFest ’97 will be just as good. For travel reservations call G.K Travel Partners at 770-907-7862 or 8(X)-484-36.38 pin #0339. Irw in leads S enior S lam by six shots Hale Irwin, who already has won two tournaments this season, took a six-stroke lead into the final round of the $5<X),(XX) Se nior Slam a t the P a lm illa G o lf Club in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. Irwin roared out of the gale Mon day with seven birdies in his first 13 holes en route to a 65. He b ird ie d six o f the firs t I I holes before finishing his attack with a birdie on the I 3th hole. And The Keys Are Yours OAC Divorce * 1st Time Buyer Credit Problems * Bankruptcy * Liens * Judgements • 5-minute Approval Ivanisevic reaches second round a t $ 8 1 4 ,2 5 0 Defending champion and top seed Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia struggled past Russian qualifier Andrei Olhovskiy, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (7-9), 6-2 Tuesday in first-round action at the $814,250 Italian In doors tennis tournament in Milan Ivanisevic, ranked fifth in the world, entered the tournament with tendinitis in his left shoul der. After losing in the finals at Dubai, Ivanisevic withdrew from the European Championships in Antwerp, Belgium Vikings quarterback to start all 16 gam es since Tom m y K ram er in 1979. He led the NFL in comple tions with 377 and was second in touchdown passes with 33 Both were single-season team records, break ing his own mark o f 371 com ple tions and K ram er's standard o f 26 scoring passes in 1981 Moon was named to the Pro Bowl eight straight seasons before 1996 In 1995. he posted his eighth 3.000- yard passing season, tying him with Joe Montana for third on the N FL's all-time list, and his fourth 4,000- yard passing season, second behind Dan M arino’s six. Moon does not plan to retire and could draw strong interest from the Seattle Seahawks, who are seeking a veteran backup for starter John Fries/. "W e’ll be in the process o f mak ing our first calls and trying to find him a team in the next couple of weeks," agent Leigh Steinberg told the Slai lTibune. • 24-Hour Financing Service 24-Hour Easy Credit Hot Line I REBUILD YOUR CREDIT! We report your payments to the credit bureau \ • Over 2000 Vehicles Available \ • Free Vehicle Locator Service \ • One Stop Auto Shopping • Service After Sale_—■ R o n T o n k in AUTO ACCEPTANCE First Name in Customer Service and Satisfaction E A S Y C R E D IT H O T L IN E 1-888-268-1152 or call direct (503) 254-2787 issu es. For the A rizo n a D ia m ondbacks b e g in n in g next year, that man w ill be C huck B lalock a P hoenix po lice o ffic e r F e rn a n d o V in a, a B re w e rs second basem an w ho play ed c o l legiate ball at A rizo n a S tate, said the p re se n ta tio n is a good idea. "T h ey told us to be c a re fu l, w atch out, be sm a rte r than the o th e r people and be ready for them before th ey can even get to y o u ,” V ina said. "T hey even give us a n u m b er to call if we th in k so m e th in g 's u p .” P oru and O bsfrvi r THOMAS SA YS NO MONETARY JEALOUSY His first day o f spring training, Frank Thomas was polished and smooth The ball jum ped as he swung, the product o f a m onth long workout in his own private batting cage at home Thomas and the two other play ers who will give the Chicago White Sox one o f the most imposing of fensive lineups in baseball — Albert Belle and Robin Ventura hit in the same threesome on a gorgeous sunny afternoon. Balls went flying over the prac tice field fence from all directions. Later, the trio later posed together for a picture, adding veteran Harold Baines to the mix. "I look forward to a special sea son," Thomas said about an hour after his workout was completed Sunday. He reported three days late after clearing up business in Chicago. Thomas touched on numerous subjects in his talk with reporters. He’s not jealous o f the money Belle is making, which is about $4 million a year more than he’s mak ing. He said it would be impossible for any team to pay two players $ 11 million each. Thomas said money is not as important as it once was and he would like to finish his career in Chicago after his current contract expires in 2000. Belle gives the W hite Sox a player who Thomas says can now 'outperform me.” He said there will be friendly competition be tween the two stars. He predicts the Sox will average six runs a game. He said it could take 100 wins to capture the AL Central, and Chicago is capable of doing that "I'v e made a lot o f money and I’m not worried what Albert is making. He was a top-notch free agent and deserved every penny. I’m not going to tell you that Oh well. I got to get close to that I’m not worried about that.” said Tho mas, who encouraged Sox chair man Jerry Reinsdorf to go after Belle Belle signed a five-year, $55 mil lion contract last November and was recognized as the gam e’s high est-paid player until Barry Bonds agreed to a contract extension last week, giving him an average salary o f $1 I 45 million. Thomas signed a contract that beginning in 1995 guaranteed him $29 million forfouryears. 1 lie club has options o f $7.15 million in 1999 and $7.25 million in 2000. Thomas predicted that Seattle’s Ken Griffey Jr would be the "first $12 million man.” "I have no regrets at all. My family is not missing a meal. Com ing out o f Columbus. Ga.. I never thought I could make the money I'm making," Thomas said. "Honestly, the way salaries are going now, how many players can you have making $ I I million? In a few years when I’m up again, it's not going to take the w orliito keep me in Chicago. I’m happy there." Thomas, a two-time MVP, said he and Belle will push one another. "Sometimes you get a little pro fessional jealously going on among teammates. That’s the way it is," he said.