Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 7, 1995 TAG: 9507070032
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SNOW JOB: With 14 straight losing half-seasons in Carolina League baseball, Salem's start in the current half is startling. The last time the team that is now the Avalanche was better to begin a half than the 11-4 record it took into Thursday night's game at Frederick was two nicknames ago.
The new Redbirds began the 1980 second half 12-3, then lost five in a row before finishing the half 46-24 and three games behind Virginia Division-winning Peninsula, led by league MVP Julio Franco. Frederick, Prince William and Wilmington weren't even in the league then, and it was the first season of the Durham Bulls' rebirth after a 12-year absence.
Salem, which won the final three games of the '95 first half, is part of a Colorado farm system that went into Thursday night's games a combined 23 games over .500. Class AAA Colorado Springs won a divisional first half in the Pacific Coast League, and New Haven is 45-38 in the Double A Eastern League.
Asheville, the Rockies' Class A stop below Salem, is two under .500 for the year, but was just sent top Colorado draft pick Todd Helton, the former Tennessee quarterback, who ranked second in hitting and first in pitching in the Southeastern Conference this season. Helton, playing first base only now, is 5-for-8 in his first three South Atlantic League games.
BIKE PATH: The Roanoke Valley is assured of being on the Tour DuPont map for a third straight year, and if officials of local organizing group Cycle Roanoke and Tour-owning Medalist Sports know what piece of the puzzle the Star City will get, they aren't saying.
The event is locked into a May 1-12 schedule, but it may run longer than the 1,130 miles of this year's Tour. Medalist vice president Steve Brunner said the organization hopes to announce the 1996 route in late July, after the conclusion of the Tour de France. ``Our goal is still trying to get to Atlanta [in an Olympic year],'' Brunner said from his Richmond office.
One question to be answered is whether the Tour still will begin in Wilmington, Del., home of DuPont headquarters. It is known that after two years of grueling, Tour-turning time trials, Cycle Roanoke officials have asked Medalist to consider giving the valley a segment that will include pack racing to enhance the experience for spectators.
``We've taken that under advisement,'' Brunner said. ``We're still trying to connect some of the dots.''
So, don't be surprised if the Roanoke Valley gets a stage with a peloton, perhaps over part of the 22.9-mile mountainous time trial course, on a weekend date that also would bring out more viewers after two straight Monday rides.
CANADA DRY: Maurice DeShazo may not be playing in the Canadian Football League yet, but the league office certainly is familiar with the former Virginia Tech and Bassett High quarterback. DeShazo remains the object of a contract impasse between Birmingham and Calgary involving CFL negotiation rights.
DeShazo was offered a deal by Birmingham, but his agent, Florida-based Carl Mathison, and Calgary say the Barracudas' exclusive negotiation period already had expired. DeShazo is in Baltimore visiting former Tech teammate Antonio Freeman before the receiver heads to Green Bay's camp, but a source close to the QB said the Roughriders' incentive-laden offer is about twice the $45,000 proposal the Barracudas made.
Calgary wants to get DeShazo signed by next weekend, when the CFL season already will be 21/2 weeks old. The squabble over DeShazo's rights has landed in the Toronto office of CFL commissioner Larry Smith.
MAROONED: An impressive addition to Roanoke College's athletic facilities is a new quarter-mile polyurethane track, a $115,000 project that's part of the Maroons' enhancement of their program. Last month, Roanoke made Finn Pincus' track and field coaching job a full-time position.
Roanoke athletic director Scott Allison said the college is hoping the new track will increase student participation in the sport as well as contributing to the physical well-being of those on the Salem campus.
by CNB