Sports figure moving to West Coast, magnificent contemporary home, wooded corner lot, 4 1/2 BR, lrg kitch, 3 1/2 ba, 2 frplc, fin bsmt, hi ceil, 2 decks, satellite dish. 5 min to Edens. $699,000.
That`s how Dainnese and Willie Gault describe the home they are trying to sell themselves. ”I don`t think it`ll be hard to sell,” says Dainnese, who designed the newspaper ad. ”I`ve even brought the price down. It was $725,000.” This bargain, folks, includes a deck that Willie built himself and a basement he finished with his own hands. And as for that satellite dish, Dainnese notes: ”That`s a heck of a hard thing to get in Lake Forest.”
Willie made use of it, for maybe the last time, when the Raiders were in town for Friday`s game. Owner Al Davis allowed his newest wide receiver to remain behind through Sunday, when Dainnese fixed a big festive dinner (turkey, stuffing, corn) to celebrate Willie`s 28th birthday, which is Sept. 5. Upon leaving, the player had a few instructions. ”He told me to take a lot of pictures,” says Dainnese, ”so we can remember our first home.”
CAN OF WORMS
What happens to statistics accumulated by the 44 college athletes alleged to have received illegal payments from Norby Walters and Lloyd Bloom? Will games have to be forfeited? A lot of conferences and schools have to tackle that thorny problem in the wake of last week`s federal indictments against the sports agents. Big 10 counsel Byron Gregory says the NCAA has the authority to make changes, but conference Commissioner Wayne Duke says he doubts it`ll happen. Said Duke: ”You`d have to rewrite a lot of record books. It`s probably remote it`ll happen. Things probably will stand as they are, but one thing about this business: Never say never.” Temple University said it will take away the records of Paul Palmer, one of the players involved.
A REMEMBRANCE
”Mr. Rooney was such an unusual man,” Jim Frey began. ”For a guy who`d accomplished what he had, he was about as humble a guy as you`d ever meet. He was everybody`s friend.” Art Rooney, Frey continued, initiated a friendship between them when Frey was managing the Cubs. ”He was sitting there in the clubhouse (in Pittsburgh) waiting one afternoon when I came to the ballpark. He said he wanted to say hello; that he had never met me. We sat and talked about football, baseball and racing. After that, every time I was in Pittsburgh, he`d either come looking for me or I`d go looking for him. After a couple of years, we started having lunch together.” They`d go to a fish place, and Frey would bring along some friends. On his last visit, he brought Don Zimmer. The Steelers` patriarch entertained with stories: playing baseball against Jim Thorpe, developing the NFL with George Halas. ”He was just a pleasure to be around,” said Frey. ”I enjoyed him so much that I wanted to keep the friendship going. He was the kind of guy who would write letters to me. If something good happened he`d send a letter, and if something bad happened he`d send a little note. One day we sat in the stands and watched the Steelers work out, and when the team was walking off the field, players went out of their way to come over and say hello. They all called him the Chief. For me to see that affection between players and an owner. . . . well, you just don`t see those things very often in pro sports.”
FORWARD THINKER
Slowly but surely, it`s possible Mike Keenan may drag the Blackhawks into the 20th Century. The new coach has just hired an assistant, Steve Williams, who`ll serve as technical support. Williams will be with the team at home and on the road. In addition to coordinating travel plans and serving as a media communications link away from Chicago, he`ll be responsible for organizing and cataloging video tapes as well as keeping computerized data up to date. Williams worked for NBC before joining the club. Said Keenan: ”More teams are developing this kind of a role. I`d say roughly half the teams in the league have someone doing something similar, but our role will be more
comprehensive.”
NEWS, NOTES AND NONSENSE
Any teacher at Glenbrook South High School who asks Stephanie Schlegel to write a theme on how she spent her summer could be in for a surprise. Stephanie, a 15-year-old member of the school`s swimming team, won a gold medal last week in the Canadian National Canoeing Championships in Nova Scotia. . . . As the U.S. Open gets underway Monday in Flushing Meadow, N.Y., Ad Age reports that hotshot Andre Agassi already is earning more than $500,000 a year off the court. The 18-year-old has replaced John McEnroe as the only tennis star Nike uses in its television ads, and he has become identified with the firm`s denim tennis shorts. Another identifying factor? His two-toned hair. . . . The Bulls haven`t opened camp, but already there`s one champion in their Deerfield Multiplex training ground. Multiplex`s Hazel Gitlitz has just been named the ”America`s 50” winner in an age-group competition sponsored by National Beauties of America. Said Gitlitz: ”I never thought I`d be doing something like this at 51.”. . . Check out the byline over the full-length feature on Joe Montana in the next issue of Chicago-based Red, White & Green Sports. Regular contributor Sandy Justin was assisted by Cleveland pitcher Tom Candiotti, who expressed an interest in journalism when she did a story on him. . . . The Wisconsin Dells, a big vacation spot for Chicagoans, is one of six sites in that state that is considering building a dog-racing track.
And finally: Superstitious? Consider the story of Gary Newman, who traveled nearly 50 miles from his home in Seneca, Ill., to enter a free-throw contest at Erik`s North last Thursday. Newman won, sinking 8 of 10, besting 60 others and earning a trip for two to Seoul. But here`s the kicker: Newman, who turned 32 the night of his victory, wore No. 32 on his high-school basketball team. Not only that, his 6-year-old son is named is Erik.
