THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 6, 1994 TAG: 9411060331
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
File this under the heading ``The fastest way to a team's heart.''
When it comes to discussions involving the Rams' possible move to St. Louis, team president John Shaw is leaving nothing to chance.
Former Sen. Thomas Eagleton of Missouri said that in a 4 1/2-hour meeting with Shaw last month, Shaw was concerned about - get this - the caliber of St. Louis restaurants.
``Mr. Shaw asked me if St. Louis was a gourmet town, and I said, `Well, we have some nice restaurants,' '' Eagleton said. ``Then he said, `Tell me, is it like San Francisco?' Well, no. He said, `How about New Orleans?'
``I said, `Well, in some respects, we're a raucous Des Moines!' ''
If only that was the barometer for selecting a new home for the Rams. Shaw, perhaps, is familiar with Baltimore's Little Italy?
SLICK EXCUSE: The Lions don't go along with Vikings special-teams coach Gary Zauner's theory that some kickers are struggling this year because of a new rule - with a $15,000 fine - prohibiting them from working over the footballs.
Zauner says kickers sometimes would bake a football - in an oven or a dryer - to soften the leather, making it baggier and easier to kick than the slick, tightly sewn fresh-from-the-box ball.
Equipment manager Dan Jaroshewich says the Lions never have done anything other than clean the film off a new ball with a towel and brush. Long-snapper Mark Rodenhauser has his own theory on kickers.
``That's the way kickers are,'' he said. ``They have too much time to think. It's not just `I missed a kick,' it's `I missed a kick and the ball's too hard.' ''
CONVENIENT EXCUSE: NFL GMs are scrambling to explain why Redskins rookie Gus Frerotte lasted until the seventh round of the draft - and then went to a team that already had chosen a QB with the third overall pick.
One reason being heard is Frerotte's decision to leave the University of Tulsa for an internship with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Frerotte majored in recreation at Tulsa and was working as a fitness consultant for the Pirates before the draft.
Frerotte went to the combine in Indianapolis in February, but wasn't at Tulsa when NFL team scouts and general managers came through for individual workouts the spring before the draft. Many teams like to go to a school to look at game film, talk to coaches and work out the player on one visit. Frerotte held workouts in Pittsburgh, and the Redskins were one of the teams that attended.
NO EXCUSE: That's former Dallas general manager Tex Schramm's advice for Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who wants to divide the money received from NFL Properties depending on the percentage of merchandise each team sells. That's great for him, because the Cowboys sell a large percentage of items now that they're one of the league's most popular teams. ``The league has been built down through the years by people who put the league first and their own franchise second,'' Schramm said recently. ``You are getting different people in the league today. Now, I don't know what is going to happen, but if I were (Giants owner) Wellington Mara or Chicago, I would tell Jerry, `You know, you have a damn good idea. You keep the Properties money, but we will keep New York's share of the television money.' Back in the 1960s, the New York Giants and George Halas of the Chicago Bears voted to share television equally with everyone else. That was a sacrifice that was unbelievable, but that is what made the NFL in those days.''
CHATTING WITH ... LIONS RUNNING BACK BARRY SANDERS
Q: You're on pace to finish the season with 2,032 yards rushing. Is a 2,000-yard season really attainable?
SANDERS: It's not a goal right now. We have enough things to keep us busy. It would be wonderful for our offensive unit to be able to accomplish something like that. That's our focus. We have enough things to occupy our time and efforts that we can take or leave 2,000 yards.
Q: Do you find yourself in competition with Jerome Bettis, Emmitt Smith and backs like that?
SANDERS: I don't spend a lot of time watching other players. I don't go out every Sunday and say, `I'm the top running back. Let's see how many yards I can get.' I leave that up to the experts and the fans.
Q: Have you ever spiked the football after a touchdown?
SANDERS: It's been a long time. I've never done it in the NFL.
DID YOU KNOW THAT: The Packers were vehemently opposed to a realignment proposal that would have moved the Buccaneers out of the NFC Central, replaced by Indianapolis. They don't care about losing the Bucs; they don't like the idea of having three dome teams in the division. ``Our people would just as soon not be on a lot of turf if they can help it,'' Packers president Bob Harlan said. . . . Only three teams in the league are averaging under 50,000 home attendance: Tampa Bay and both L.A. teams. You sure they deserve two teams out there? . . . Cardinals linebacker Seth Joyner has accused ex-Eagles teammates David Alexander and Antone Davis of intentionally inflicting a season-ending knee injury on Arizona defensive lineman Eric Swann last year. ``I can say it now because I'm no longer part of the (Eagles) team,'' Joyner said. ``I heard them talking about how they got him. I don't know exactly what it was. I guess they got tired of him kicking their asses all day.''
THEY SAID IT:
Mike Ditka, on Buddy Ryan: ``I have no problem with Buddy. He keeps instigating the problem. I don't care what he does, how he does it, when he does it or where he does it. I'm just trying to figure out what kind of pictures he had of that guy in Arizona (owner Bill Bidwill) to get the job.'' MEMO: Material for this column was obtained from Virginian-Pilot and
Ledger-Star wire services. by CNB