Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.sports,americast.usa-today.sports From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: sports Tue, Sep 15 1992 Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 04:23:48 EDT Message-ID: 09-15 0000 DECISIONLINE: Sports USA TODAY Update Sept. 15, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network 10 NFL PLAYERS FILE COMPLAINT: Philadelphia's Keith Jackson and nine other unsigned NFL players filed a complaint Monday in Minneapolis federal court seeking to be declared unrestricted free agents. The action follows the jury decision that eight NFL players were harmed, some financially, by the restrictive free-agency system. The motion is to be argued Wednesday. The NFL said the two sides should work on an agreement. 49ERS MAY GET ANOTHER KICKER: A day after San Francisco's 34-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills, 49ers coach George Seifert said he is considering signing a replacement for Mike Cofer, who missed a 47-yard field goal that could have set up overtime with 54 seconds left Sunday. Cofer also missed a 33-yarder. "At this point, Mike's still our kicker. But we owe it to the team to look at other players," Seifert said. MARINO PILOTS DOLPHINS TO WIN: Dan Marino gave himself a birthday present just a few minutes early Monday night, leading the Miami Dolphins to a come-from-behind 27-23 victory against the Cleveland Browns. Marino, who turns 31 Tuesday, piloted the Dolphins 84 yards in five plays in the final one minute, 15 seconds. Passes of 22 and 18 yards to Fred Banks set up Mark Higgs' 1-yard TD leap with seven seconds left. SUPER BOWL PICKS BEGIN: For people who think two weeks into the National Football League season is too early to think about Super Bowl XXVII, consider this: The previous 52 qualifiers averaged a 4-0 mark before losing. Hello Buffalo, Denver, Philadelphia, Dallas ... and Kansas City, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay. Only seven Super Bowl squads lost openers, and no Super Bowl team opened 0-2. PIRATES TOP CARDINALS 5-4: The Pittsburgh Pirates victimized Lee Smith Monday, beating the St. Louis Cardinals and their relief ace 5-4 on Cecil Espy's RBI single in the 10th inning to take a four-game lead in the NL East. In other National League games: Philadelphia 6, Montreal 2; New York 10, Chicago 8; Houston 5, San Francisco 0; Los Angeles 5, San Diego 4, 11 innings. RIPKEN HOMER BOOSTS ORIOLES: Cal Ripken ended his 73 games without a home run, and lifted the Baltimore Orioles past the Kansas City Royals 2-1 Monday. The Orioles closed within four games of AL East-leading Toronto. In other American League action: Chicago 8, New York 6; Milwaukee 6, Boston 0; Cleveland 2, Toronto 1; Oakland 3, Minnesota 2. STRAWBERRY HAVING SURGERY: Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Darryl Strawberry will have back surgery Tuesday in Inglewood, Calif. Strawberry has been hampered by a herniated disk in his lower back and has been on the disabled list twice this season. Strawberry announced last week that he would have surgery and miss the rest of the season. He batted .237 with five home runs and 25 RBI this year in 43 games. GROUP PLANS INDIANS PROTEST: A Native American group planned to demonstrate at Monday's Cleveland Indians game in Toronto. Jay Mason, spokesman for the Canadian Alliance in Solidarity with the Native Peoples, said the Indians' name and mascot logo, Chief Wahoo, are racist stereotypes. The group said it would distribute pamphlets, featuring a contest to rename the Indians and redesign their logo. OPEN DOUBLE-FAULTS ON TV: TV ratings for CBS' coverage of the U.S. Open tennis championship double-faulted last weekend. With the top men's trio of Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Andre Agassi and Martina Navratilova sidelined early, ratings plunged. Friday's overnight ratings fell 30% from 1991, to a 2.8 rating (2.6 million households). Sunday's final slipped 23%, to 5.8 (5.3 million). LINDROS TO FACE QUEBEC: Eric Lindros, hockey's newest superstar, makes his debut Saturday for the Philadelphia Flyers against the team he jilted, the Quebec Nordiques. This is a show that isn't ready for the road. Lindros won't accompany the Flyers to Quebec for Sunday's exhibition. However, Lindros will play in the Flyers' regular-season game at Quebec Oct. 13. PISTONS PLAN MILLS OFFER: The Detroit Pistons are on the verge of extending an offer to free-agent forward Terry Mills in hopes that it will be too high for the New Jersey Nets to match, The Detroit News reports. The offer, estimated to be $9 million over four or five years, is expected to be made Tuesday. CAMPBELL TRADED TO KNICKS: Tony Campbell, after three years as the leading scorer for the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves, was traded Monday to the New York Knicks for a second-round draft choice in either 1994, '95 or '96. The deal frees up $1.377 million salary and pro-rated bonuses under the salary cap, leaving the Timberwolves about $2 million for first-round draft pick Christian Laettner's first-year salary. NEW MEXICO ST. HAS SOLID START: It was so bad for the New Mexico State's football team, who haven't had a season with two or more victories since 1983, that Sports Illustrated, in its preseason issue, called this year's squad the nation's worst. But the Aggies (2-0) are off to their best start since 1978 and is coming off a 42-39 victory against arch-rival New Mexico, their third win in the 25-year series. CHAMBERLAIN, ALI HONORED: Basketball's Wilt Chamberlain and boxing's Muhammad Ali are making a special walk. The two will join 25 other sports figures Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York for induction ceremonies for the new Walk of Fame. USA WINS PARALYMPIC GAMES: The USA finished the 1992 Paralympic Games as the top medal-winner with 176, 76 of them gold. Germany won 171, followed by Great Britain's 128. Blind swimmer Trischa Zorn of Indianapolis won 10 gold medals, two silvers. Other big winners were: Blind swimmers John Morgan, 10 medals, and Beth Scott of Rockville, Md., seven; wheelchair racer Bart Dodson of Murfreesboro, Tenn., eight. 24-HOUR TELEPHONE INFORMATION: USA TODAY Sports Hot Line. 95 cents a minute. 1-900-555-5555. Sports Editor: Kate Coughlin. (919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. 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