Sports
Page 9 • Thursday, October 7, 1999
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louston awarded NFL expansion franchise
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mleadsIe Wnta (AP) — Houston re-
ime,Eppefep tie NFL yesterday, paying a
ifcreditg^fd $700 million for an expan-
just assisie; franchise and beating out Los
urt said ijleslthe nation’s second-largest
cii Char:: narket.
is been br, he tote, announced by com-
N. loner Paul Tagliabue, was 29-0
leen wasbe Ari; ona and St. Louis abstain-
est Virginia TW|nty-four votes were need-
992, Eppe: ir approval.
know wb he pecision represents a blow
irlestonorlB'mgeles, which could not
.sincethereon several proposals for a sta-
econd ann i site. The city lost the Raiders
stin police lakland and the Rams to St.
imore tha |alter the 1994 season,
airest. he I vote awarding Houston
nessman Bob McNair the team
d ped months of indecision in
Aphthe NFL at one point condi-
Ulilly awarded a franchise to Los
A deadline for Los Ange-
| o come up with a suitable sta-
rhM ro p° sal came anc ^ went >
putting Houston back
th| picture.
dikingne !P' n,< a h er a while we all got
/as the be j of it. thought it was time to
he clainte:!;'
d she didr: |
uld not ge:
dthe pek:|
oman unoif
is mother i
the car. Bv YORK (AP) — Just what the Texas
tstedthev prs needed: a day off in the big city.
mdoningaBy could watch television and dwell
d on S5.Br seven-game postseason slide.
By could read the newspapers and
rides hadi;Bon their 22-inning playoff scoreless
jse the b: ft.
al capadtvBy C o U ld listen to the radio and the
old to beBnt talk of a Subway Series between
Hnkees and Mets.
plan tosffBpbody expects us to win,” Game 2
•ges apply, ter Rick Helling said yesterday. “To me,
asalsoaske® p ressure j s on t pj e Yankees. They
;hi!d Proteifthe first game. ”
Bn is an understatement. Orlando
ran ™ 0 ^ ei pnd eZ held the Rangers to two hits in
lyonne D0« nn j n g S anc j B ern j e Williams had six
vorb IU<1 BnN eW York’s series-opening 8-0 win
esthy night.
Hplling (13-11), who gave up a major
make a decision,” McNair said.
The $700 million fee is the high
est for a sports team in the United
States. With a $310 million stadium
included, the Houston deal would
be worth more than $1 billion — a
first for the NFL.
“It’s a great day for Houston, we
hope a great day for football,” Mc
Nair said. “Our facility will be sec
ond to none. ”
The vote returns an NFL team
to Houston, which lost the Oilers
to Tennessee after the 1996 sea
son and is the nation’s No. 11 TV
market.
The name of the Houston team
is not set, but Tagliabue said it
would not be “Oilers.” When Cleve
land lost its franchise to Baltimore
after the 1995 season, the NFL
brought back a team to Cleveland,
along with its traditional nickname,
colors and records.
Upon hearing the news today,
football enthusiasts in Houston
were ecstatic.
Larry Dluhy, owner of Sports
Collectibles of Houston, was a long
time Oilers fan, but said he wel
comed the return of an NFL team.
“We’re on cloud nine,” Dluhy
said. “We just can’t believe it, it’s so
exciting. I’ve lived here all my life
and the last two years with the Oil
ers gone, there’s been a huge va
cancy. It’s like an empty closet and
now we’ve filled it back up.”
At the SRO Sports Bar & Cafe
near downtown Houston, the lunch
crowd had not yet arrived, but
manager Kathryn Scharringhousen
was already celebrating.
“It’s awesome,” Scharringhousen
said. “I’m very happy and I know it’s
going to be great for our business,”
“I think everyone just loves a Hous
ton home team.”
Owners also voted to adjust the
league alignment to eight divisions
of four teams each. Right now,
there are six divisions — one with
six teams and the rest with five.
Houston will be placed in the
AFC, where the old Oilers played.
That would mean one AFC team
would have to switch to the NFC.
Arizona and St. Louis abstained be
cause of questions over the pro
posed alignment.
McNair said a retractable-roof
stadium will be completed in time
for Houston to play its first season
in 2002. Public funds of $195 mil
lion will go into the project.
“It's a great day for
Houston; we hope
a great day for
football.”
— Bob McNair
Houston expansion franchise
As part of the deal, Houston will
be the site of a Super Bowl “as soon
as practical after completion of the
stadium,” Tagliabue said.
“We’ve made an outstanding
business proposal, and these are
good business people who know a
good proposal,” McNair said.
“From what I know about the oth
er proposals, I don’t think they
compare to ours. I think the main
issue is that Houston’s ready to go.”
The league’s expansion commit
tee met with McNair on Tuesday
evening and also heard Michael
Ovitz make another pitch for giving
Los Angeles the 32nd team.
McNair’s $700 million franchise
bid is some $50 million higher than
the new franchise was expected to
be worth. Ovitz, who most recent
ly proposed building a stadium at
Hollywood Park in Inglewood,
Calif., and another group seeking a
team for the Los Angeles Coliseum
apparently did not make an offer
anywhere close to the one Houston
put on the table.
Ovitz and his backers hold an
option on a parcel of land at Holly
wood Park. But he obtained the op
tion just last week, so any plan for
that site would have to be in the
very early stages.
Ed Roski, one of the Coliseum
backers, also was in Atlanta. He
would not disclose the amount of
the offer made by his group, which
includes billionaire Eli Broad. Ros
ki did say that he believed any plan
to build a stadium at Hollywood
Park faced a number of challenges,
including lacking easy access to
freeways, that the Coliseum pro
posal did not face.
Los Angeles City Councilman
Mark Ridley-Thomas said in Los
Angeles that the Coliseum group
never received a clear idea of what
the NFL wanted in LA.
The league owners voted 29-2
last March to give Los Angeles a
team conditional on the NFL’s re
ceiving a suitable stadium and fi
nancing proposal by Sept. 15.
The league shortly afterward
narrowed the choice down to the
Coliseum, eliminating a bid by
Ovitz, who proposed building a
stadium in suburban Carson. But
the negotiations with the Coliseum
stalled last summer after the NFL’s
request requested — and did not
receive — the promise of $150 mil
lion in public funds to go toward
the Coliseum project.
ngers use day off to try and correct postseason problems
league-high 41 homers, pitches against
Andy Pettitte (14-11) on Thursday night be
fore the series moves to Arlington.
“To me, all the
pressure is on the
Yankees. They won
the first game.”
- RICK HELLING
RANGERS PITCHER
“Obviously, if you’re down one, it’s a lot
more important game,” Pettitte said. “But
it’s still important. If we can get the second
game here and go there to Texas up two,
we feel confident.”
Sound familiar?
After the Yankees beat Texas in last
year’s postseason opener, Pettitte faced
Helling in Game 2 and led New York to a
3-1 win, allowing one run and three hits in
seven innings with eight strikeouts.
Helling gave up three runs and eight
hits in six innings.
“It was just like ^ has been so far in all
these games against the Yankees,” Helling
said. “We got outpitched a little bit, didn’t
score enough runs to win.”
Helling, who traveled from the team
hotel to the Bronx by limo; was the only
Rangers’ player in sight at Yankee Stadi
um on Wednesday, with manager John
ny Oates giving his team a day off.
About half the Yankees showed for an
optional workout.
The clubhouse mood was businesslike.
The Yankees need 10 more wins to achieve
their goal of a third World Series title in
four seasons, and they are hoping to find
the consistency that led them to a record
125 wins a year ago.
New York is hoping Pettitte will pitch
with confidence, as he did in a record 21-3
victory at Arlington on Aug. 23.
“They’re a scary team to play against
because you know they’re going to break
loose,” New York’s Paul O’Neill said.
“They’re going to score runs when it’s all
said and done. ”
Texas hopes so. The Rangers have just
one run in their last 42 playoff innings —
all against the Yankees.
“We’re a very good offensive ball club,”
said Rangers general manager Doug
Melvin, whose team led the American
League in batting for the second straight
year. “We’ll break out of it somewhere
along the line here. Just hope that it’s
sooner than later.”
Texas may have its best chance against
Pettitte, a Texan from Deer Park. Juan
Gonzalez is 10-for-22 (.455) against the
left-hander, Rusty Greer is 9-for-25 (.360),
Todd Zeile 5-for-14 (.357) and Rafael
Palmeiro 13-for-44 (.295) with four
homers and nine RBIs.
Pettitte put pressure on himself anywhere
he played during the first four months of this
season. He was 7-8 at the July 31 trade dead
line, looking lost during some starts.
Manager Joe Torre and several of own
er George Steinbrenner’s baseball people
argued that Pettitte should not be dealt.
And once the deadline passed, Pettitte ap
peared to relax, winning three straight
starts and five of six
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