Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 28, 1994 TAG: 9410280058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Salem's baseball club has no shortage of suggestions for its new nickname. The former Buccaneers received 711 entries in a name-the-team contest.
Sam Lazzaro, the club's general manager, said team officials hope to pick their favorite suggestion during the weekend, have potential logos drawn, then submit the choices to the National Association of Professional Baseball Clubs for a trademark search.
``We got everything from A to Z, Aristocrats to Zebs,'' Lazzaro said.
There also were SalemAnders, Magpies, Studs, Big LicksTHOUGHT THIS WAS A LITTLE TOO GRAPHIC; IF YOU DISAGREE, PUT IT BACK IN - JOE and Whippets among more than 100 others.
The club hopes to announce the name within the next two weeks. Lazzaro said Mountaineers (40 times) easily is the most-repeated name, and many entries tried to tie their proposal to Salem's new parent club, Colorado, and the local terrain. Then, there was another suggestion related to the Denver franchise.
The Salem Bullwinkles, as in Rockies and ...
And in news that should make the club less of a Rocky Horror Pitcher Show than at cozy Municipal Field, Lazzaro said Salem's new 6,000-seat ballpark is expected to measure 330 feet down each foul line, 367 to the power alleys and 401 to center field, with walls 20 feet high to accommodate double-deck advertising.
BOWLING: Now that the ACC and Big East have signed a deal to send second selections - not necessarily runners-up - to the Gator Bowl starting next season for a per-team payday of at least $2 million, one question hasn't been answered: What about potential rematches of Virginia Tech-Virginia or Miami-Florida State?
Rick Catlett, the Gator Bowl's executive director, said he would have ``no problem'' with either game being replayed in Jacksonville, Fla. ``It has been addressed, but no decision has been made,'' Catlett said. ``That's one of the details that has to be worked out.''
Tom Mickle, the ACC's assistant commissioner, said a Gator Bowl rematch of regular-season foes ``probably isn't likely, unless it was mutually agreed upon by the two schools, and that probably wouldn't happen.''
Catlett said this season's Gator, being played Jan.1 in Gainesville, Fla., while the Jacksonville stadium is renovated for the NFL's Jaguars, wants an ACC or Big East second team as the bowl coalition opponent for the Southeastern Conference's third team.
``We really like Virginia Tech, and I just talked to [athletic director] Jim Copeland about Virginia the other day,'' Catlett said. ``I think both of those schools and their fans would be excited about our game. There's still a lot of football to be played, though.''
THREE DEEP: With the Big East and ACC having locked second teams into the Gator, expect each league to soon renew third-team ties with the Carquest Bowl and Peach, respectively. The ACC may not seek a No.4 bid, which it now has in the Hall of Fame Bowl. That Tampa, Fla., game will match third picks from the Big Ten and SEC starting next season.
LONG SHOT: Charlotte's Dell Curry doesn't like the shortening of the NBA's 3-point distance any more than most of the league's other long-distance marksmen, but the change might make the Hornets' guard more wealthy.
``We'll have a lot more players out there thinking they can make that shot,'' said Curry, the NBA's Six Man Award winner last season. ``It shortens the court for the big guys and it won't clean up play in the post, but I'll win a lot more in shooting games in practice from guys like Muggsy [Bogues], L.J. [Larry Johnson] and 'Zo [Alonzo Mourning].''
UNCLE AL: Gus Frerotte, the celebrated 1-0 Washington rookie starter at quarterback, isn't the first person in his family to make a name in these parts. His uncle, Al Frerotte, was a 6-foot, 190-pound tackle who lettered from 1938-40 at Virginia while opening holes for ``Bullet'' Bill Dudley and Jim Gillette.
Gus Frerotte has a three-year, $460,000 contract. Heath Shuler, the Redskins' top draft pick and quarterback of the future, is making $1.57 million this season, including his prorated signing bonus. Last season at Tulsa, Frerotte ranked 41st among NCAA Division I-A quarterbacks in passing efficiency. Shuler, at Tennessee, was No.6. Just ahead of Shuler was Virginia Tech's then-junior Maurice DeShazo.
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by CNB