
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 17, 1994                    TAG: 9406170724 
SECTION: SPORTS                     PAGE: C1    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro 
DATELINE: 940617                                 LENGTH: Medium

1 ARENA, 2 TEAMS: IT JUST WON'T WORK

{LEAD} Future watch: Give Old Dominion University and the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission credit for thinking big, but no major league franchise will consider sharing an arena with a college. Not as long as other municipalities are willing to build for the specific needs of a pro team.

Talent search: The World Cup may not create a soccer boom in America, but NFL scouts could come up with one or two new placekickers.

{REST} Stifling: You don't need to know anything about international soccer to understand that, in this heat and humidity, the Northern European teams are playing at a disadvantage. Not even the Pontiac Silverdome is air-conditioned.

Sizing him up: When Glenn Robinson was measured at one of the NBA's pre-draft camps, the 6-foot-9 Purdue All-American was discovered to be 6-feet-7. That's easy to explain. Duke's defense shrunk him.

On the move: Recent auditions have raised Charlie Ward's stock in the NBA draft. Once considered a second-round pick, the Florida State guard could go as high as the middle of the first.

Giving in: Christmas came early for college athletic programs when the powers that be decided to make the SATs less challenging. As long as this sort of dumbing down continues, the Japanese and Germans have nothing to fear from us.

My choice: I'm watching very little of the NBA Finals, not because I dislike the game of basketball, but because I like it.

Turn back the shot clock: Nostalgia buffs should love the possibilities of the Knicks-Rockets series. The last time two NBA teams failed to score 100 points in any game in the final round was when the Syracuse Nationals beat the Minneapolis Lakers in 1954, the season before the 24-second clock was introduced. Before tonight's game, maybe somebody will check the ball for laces.

An expert witness: None other than Chuck Daly, architect of the Bad Boy Pistons, thinks the NBA may have to reconsider how much holding and other physical play the referees allow. Says Chuck, ``They've got to put the basket back in basketball.''

Time flies: I can't get used to the idea of John Elway being the oldest player on the Denver Broncos.

Fading: Los Angeles Lakers veteran James Worthy says he's not retiring. The Lakers are not thrilled.

Rough enough: Now that defensive end Leonard Marshall has signed with the Redskins, he won't have to pursue another career option - playing in the NBA.

Strange bedfellows: Charles Barkley insists that he's serious about running as the Republican candidate for governor of Alabama in 1998. Said Barkley's recent celebrity golf partner Dan Quayle: ``I told him I will come into Alabama and campaign for him, or campaign against him - whatever way will help. He hasn't decided which yet.''

In passing: A suggestion for hard-core soccer fans during the World Cup - keep your sense of humor.

Mopping up: Anyone who remembers him as the Boston Celtic who wildly waved a towel over his head to the delight of the Garden crowds may have a hard time picturing M.L. Carr as the teams' new senior executive vice-president. Carr has done more with dirty laundry than Bob Woodward.

by CNB