Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 30, 1993 TAG: 9304300097
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Knight-Ridder/Tribune and Associated Press reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"We are worried about Mr. Finks, Jim and his family, and haven't given any consideration to running the team," Benson said in a shaken voice. "We are just worried about Mr. Finks right now."
Finks, 65, who had built the Saints into a winning and profitable franchise, had complained about respiratory problems for several weeks. The man who was almost appointed NFL commissioner in 1989, was hospitalized at Southern Baptist Hospital in New Orleans on Monday after the NFL draft.
Dr. Charles L. Brown Jr., a cancer specialist and one of the team doctors, confirmed the diagnosis and is consulting with specialists.
Benson said Jim Miller, the team's vice president, will handle player negotiations.
In other sports news:
The Bucs signed five college free agents on the eve of their minicamp, among them Virginia kicker Michael Husted and North Carolina linebacker Jon Perry.
\ Free-agent defensive end Steve Brannon, Hampton University's career sack leader, was signed by the New York Giants.
\ Terry Porter of the Portland Trail Blazers is the winner of the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy citizenship award for work with Portland-area charities. The point guard has done his most extensive work with the boys' and girls' clubs, with whom he works along with Jerome Kersey. The award, given by the Pro Basketball Writers of America, is named for the former NBA commissioner.
\ In Peoria, Ill., Bradley University will keep its athletic teams' nickname of the "Braves" despite protests of Native American groups who said the name is racist, John Brazil, president of the private liberal arts school, said.
\ In Oneonta, N.Y., Pele, who led Brazil to three World Cup titles and then became an ambassador for soccer in the United States, was elected to the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame. Also selected were Dennis Long, former president of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. and a longtime supporter of the sport, and John "Jukey" Nanoski, a star of the American Soccer League in the 1940s. Induction ceremonies are scheduled for June 12.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL AND BASKETBALL
by CNB