Even if Karl-Heinz Granitza were ready to rejoin the Sting, owner Lee Stern doesn`t sound willing to kiss and make up with his longtime superstar.
”I doubt very much that Karl has a role with the team anymore,” Stern said Thursday. ”From the standpoint of the rest of this season, I`m not certain it would be in his best interests or ours for him to continue. But I`m leaving the situation open-ended. I haven`t heard from Karl, and I`m extremely disappointed. But even if I did, that doesn`t mean he`d play again.”
Granitza, suspended indefinitely by Stern for ”insubordination”
Saturday, reportedly is secluded out of state in a cabin without a telephone.
The Sting`s all-time leading scorer did call Sting coach Erich Geyer and returned president Kenny Stern`s call Thursday.
”He said to tell the team he was happy that we won last night,” said Geyer, whose team beat Minnesota 9-5. ”But he didn`t indicate he`d want to come back.”
Said Kenny Stern: ”I don`t know what realization he`s come to, but I can tell in his voice he`s giving things a lot of thought. Perhaps it`s good for him to be away and think about his future.
”I have ambivalent concerns about Karl on behalf of the team. The club has not been succesful in recent years. If we had 10,000 people screaming
`Granitza, Granitza,` I`d hand him a blank contract and tell him to coach himself. We don`t.”
