
##3000462 <p> Ending one of pro football 's more confounding legal scrimmages , National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue brokered a deal yesterday that freed Bill Parcells from his obligations to the New England Patriots and allowed him to sign on immediately as head coach of the Jets . <p> It took a decisive move by the commissioner finally to break the stalemate between the teams , which had battled for weeks over Parcells the way two knights would fight over a princess . As the worst team in football , the Jets were determined to hire Parcells , even if his coaching rights belonged to the Patriots . New England was just as determined not to let him go without getting the first pick in the draft , which belonged to the Jets . <p> When the Jets made an end run last week and hired Parcells as a consultant , instead of as a coach , the Patriots cried foul . Yesterday , Tagliabue called it " an unprecedented situation " and one that he clearly viewed as unacceptable . So he called the two sides together @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deal at the league 's law offices on Manhattan 's Upper East Side . <p> Instead of getting the top pick this year , the Patriots will receive the Jets ' third- and fourth-round picks this year , their second-round pick next year and their first-round pick in 1999 . The deal brings Parcells back to the city and the stadium where he won two Super Bowl titles , albeit with the club that will now be his archrival , the Giants . <p> " The club has shown tremendous faith and confidence in me and my staff , " Parcells said . " I ca n't wait to get to work tomorrow morning to start rewarding the tremendous confidence Leon Hess placed in me . " <p> The dispute was actually kindled a year ago , when Parcells , apparently frustrated by Robert K. Kraft 's unwillingness to give him authority over all personnel decisions , asked the owner to let him out of the final year of his contract -- the 1997 season -- in exchange for a promise that he would not coach anywhere else . But over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sport 's worst-kept secrets that the Jets , en route to a 1-15 record , wanted Parcells to take over their woeful operation . It also became clear that that was what Parcells wanted to do . <p> Talk of Parcells 's imminent departure heated up as the Patriots advanced through the playoffs , and the biggest issue surrounding the team as it headed into Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans on Jan. 26 was what Parcells 's plans would be after the game rather than during it . <p> After the Super Bowl , which the Patriots lost , 35-21 , Tagliabue ruled that Parcells 's contract with New England prohibited him from coaching or serving in a similar capacity with any other team , unless the two teams could agree on compensation . The Jets , at the time , were the only N.F.L. team without a coach , and Kraft said immediately that any deal would have to include the new team 's No. 1 choice in the coming draft . <p> That induced the Jets to make what was widely interpreted as an end run and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Parcells as a consultant for next season and as coach for at least four seasons after that . In addition , beginning with the 1998-99 season , Parcells would be given the title of head of football operations , giving him the control over personnel that he sought . <p> In the meantime , the Jets hired Bill Belichick , a Parcells assistant coach in both New England and with the Giants , as their head coach for next season . Belichick agreed that he would step aside whenever Parcells became available . <p> " It shows you what innovative people can do , " Tagliabue said yesterday , an acknowledgment that the Jets had winked at the rules . <p> The commissioner had called yesterday 's meeting ostensibly to examine the deal , but it was widely expected he would try to hammer out a more conventional agreement . After the deal was concluded , he said he had explained to Kraft the facts of football life in the 1990 's -- that the success of his team last season would mean his young stars would soon command salaries too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and that a stockpile of draft choices would be helpful to the Patriots ' future . <p> " I showed Bob that while he was in a very strong position now , he would start having cap problems , " Tagliabue said . " Veteran players want to be paid . " <p> Kraft said he understood . <p> " When you think about it , we got 16 years of players , based on an average of four years for a career , " he said . " In exchange we have to get Parcells coaching against us for only one extra year . " <p> The Jets , meanwhile , are losing a top pick down the road ; but by then they might be a better team and thus would be giving up a lower pick . For now , though , even their third and fourth choices are n't bad because the Jets choose at the top of each round . <p> " The teams said they thought the solution was best -- even though neither side was happy , " Tagliabue conceded . <p> Kraft may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calls for the Jets to pay $300,000 to his charitable foundation . <p> The Jets can take solace in that for the first time in years , their leadership appears solid . Their stretch of mediocre play extends back to 1969 , the last time the club appeared in a Super Bowl , when Joe Namath led them to an upset victory over the Baltimore Colts . Since then they have not even won a division title , a skein of frustrating seasons unmatched by any other team . They have not had a winning season since 1988 . No coach has ever left the Jets with a winning career record on the team . <p> Parcells becomes the fifth coach the Jets have had in four years ( if Belichick counts ) . Bruce Coslet , who this year helped turn around the Cincinnati Bengals , was fired after the 1993 season . He was followed for one season by Pete Carroll , who was dismissed after a 6-10 season but became a successful offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers . In another of the many twists in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to replace Parcells . <p> When the Jets dismissed Carroll , the team 's owner , Hess , hired Rich Kotite and said : " I hope the fans are as happy as I am . I 'm 80 years old . I want results now . " In two seasons with Kotite at the helm , the Jets were 4-28 . <p> Yesterday 's meeting pitted Hess and Steve Gutman , the team 's president , against Kraft ; his chief financial officer , Andy Wasynczuk , and the Patriots ' lawyer , Richard Karelitz . <p> The meeting , which began before noon , took about five hours , and agreement was finally reached when Tagliabue persuaded the sides to accept binding arbitration . <p> " I said to Bob Kraft , ' Look , you 've just come from a Super Bowl , ' " Tagliabue said afterward . " ' Your quarterback and your running back are coming back from the Pro Bowl . Do n't you want them to start getting ready for next season without these distractions ? ' " <p> Tagliabue said he then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Corporation : " You want Bill Parcells . Where would you rather have him this year ? In Jupiter Beach , Fla. , or coaching your team ? " <p> The object of all the bickering has a history of both winning and restlessness . Parcells took over the Giants , then a mediocre club , in 1983 . His first year , their record was 3-12-1 , but three seasons later they won the Super Bowl , after which Parcells attempted to get out of his contract in order to move to the Atlanta Falcons , like the Jets a weak team . Then Commissioner Pete Rozelle blocked the move , and Parcells stayed with the Giants , winning a Super Bowl again four years later . <p> That was six years ago . A few months later Parcells left the Giants , and though at the time he would not cite the reasons , now he claims he was worried about his health . He subsequently had two angioplasty procedures and a heart bypass . <p> He joined the Patriots four years ago , at the time another downtrodden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It took him his usual four years to get to a Super Bowl , although this time he lost . 
##3000463 <p> It was 11 o'clock in the morning the appointed time he was to arrive at a gym and begin a light workout -- then 5 after 11 , 10 after and 11:30 , and still there was no Andrew Golota . <p> Golota , a 28-year-old who had been ranked among the top five heavyweights in the world until losing consecutive bouts over the past seven months by disqualification for hitting Riddick Bowe below the belt , was scheduled to be at the Windy City boxing gym on the southwest side of Chicago , a neat but traditionally inelegant second-floor gym , which had once been a warehouse . Golota has just returned to training , and is looking toward a possible bout in May with Jesse Ferguson and then perhaps a bout with Ray Mercer in June . <p> On this day , though , Golota was late . At 11:45 , a call was made to the north side home where he lives with his wife and their 5-year-old daughter . His wife , Mariola , answered the phone . " Oh , Andrew left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knows he 's supposed to be there . He 'll be there . But things happen to Andrew . He was late to our wedding . Both of them . Can you believe it , our own weddings ? The first one was in Poland , at the Palace of Marriages , and he decided he wanted the pictures taken before , and not after , the civil ceremony . Everything got scrambled up , and we were late . <p> " Then we had a church wedding in Chicago , but he had forgotten to confess his sins . So first he went into the church to see the priest and stayed there a long time . My God , what could he have been telling ? Everybody 's waiting . Finally Andrew comes out , and we got married . " <p> That was six years ago , and Golota , who at that time moved to Chicago , where Mariola lived , still seems to be catching up . <p> " Andrew can be a terrific fighter , maybe a champion one day soon , " said George @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gym working with a couple of young prospects . " He hits hard and can take a punch , too . But in the ring , he has to keep his lid on . He just ca n't be going off his trolley , as he did in the two Bowe fights . " <p> He said this as a pair of amateur middleweights sparred in one of the two rings in the gym , their shoes scraping with an odd rhythm on the resiny canvas , their gloves thudding upon each other 's leather headgear , their sweat being illuminated by shafts of gray morning light issuing down from the skylight . <p> Then the front door opened and in walked a large man in a brown leather jacket and blue jeans . He had short brown hair and sharp but not unappealing features , stood about 6 feet 4 inches and weighed about 240 pounds . <p> " I supposed to be here at 11 o'clock , " Golota said . <p> Except now it was 11:58 . <p> " But still 11 , " Golota said . <p> @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ <p> Golota smiled , a slightly apologetic smile . In short order , he donned a pink T-shirt , white trunks and black boxing shoes , taped his own hands , did some loosening-up exercises , was helped on with a pair of red boxing gloves darkened at the fists from heavy use and proceeded to pound the big black punching bag . <p> On the off-white walls of the gym were old , yellowing fight posters , some publicizing cards with Golota , and the earliest ones with the Polish spelling of his first name , Andrzej , and sites like an outdoor arena in Joliet , Ill. , billed as " Rumble by Starlight . " He was fighting then for $50 a round , a long way from the $2 million he earned in the second Bowe fight , but still far from such potential bonanzas as the $35 million deal the champion Evander Holyfield signed for his second Mike Tyson heavyweight title fight on May 3 . <p> Golota 's fists thumped against the big bag , which , upon receiving the blows , seemed to sometimes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ceiling . Patches of sweat blossomed on his pink shirt . A shrill bell rang , indicating three minutes were up , then another bell indicating the one-minute rest period was up , and Golota attacked the bag again , each time hitting above what seemed to be an imaginary waist . <p> " It is easy to hit above the belt of the punching bag , " Golota said later . " It 's not going anywhere . But in the first fight , I hit him below the belt four times . The second fight , I did it only two times . I make progress . " <p> Golota was 28-0 with 25 knockouts before the disqualification losses to Bowe . In each of those Bowe fights -- the first last July 11 , the second on Dec. 14 -- Golota was beating the former unified world heavyweight champion handily , and then unleashed blows that sent Bowe writhing to the canvas , ending the first fight in the sixth round , and the second in the ninth . <p> After the workout , he drove in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Avenue area and ate a lunch of hot borscht and cheese pirogis with sour cream . <p> " In the first fight , I hit Bowe low on purpose the first time , " Golota said . " He hit me in back and I feel so much in kidney . I decide , you got to feel something , too . So you do n't do anymore . " <p> But to lose two fights in a row by identical types of disqualification is strange . " What could you do ? " Golota said . " Sometimes you do n't think . " And this despite his manager , Lou Duva , hollering between rounds in the second fight for him to keep his punches up . " He was yelling too much , " Golota said . " There was so much noise . I could hardly hear him . " In his corner after the fight , Golota held his head in his gloved hands . " I stupid , " he groaned . <p> He recalled : " The fight was a war . I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . I no can let it happen again . " <p> He was not happy with Duva 's response when someone asked how Golota might not foul again . " Maybe I should match him with a midget , " Duva replied . Golota said now , " He knows that was n't funny . " <p> Golota still retains dreams of owning the championship belt . " I just want it for a short time , " he said . " I do n't need it forever . " <p> But things do happen to him . Like last summer , when he tried for the first time to cook steaks on a grill in his backyard . " I burned them , " he said . " My friends could n't eat it . So I gave it to my dog . And he got sick . " <p> He has become a national hero in Poland behind only Lech Walesa and Pope John Paul II because of his boxing success . He won a bronze medal in the 1988 Olympics , but he also became a fugitive in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sentence and a $7,000 fine on charges of assault and robbery , after a man had apparently begun a fight with Golota in a bar in Boleslawiec . Golota said he left the man with only a shiner , his underwear and one shoe , dumping the rest of the man 's wardrobe that night into a trash can . <p> " I was drunk that night , " Golota said . " I not do anything like that if straight . I be careful of my drinking from now on . " <p> Yet Golota is not without certain winning ways , and his wife , Mariola , now a law student , told how she was smitten . " We met when I made a visit to Poland , " she said . " I found Andrew to be very intelligent , very gentle , even . We had a whirlwind romance . <p> " I remember one bitterly cold night when we were coming out of a nightclub in Warsaw and there was an old grandma sitting on the curb selling roses . Andrew felt bad for her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . We had so many roses we could n't carry them all . So he stuffed them in his jacket . I had tears in my eyes . My Prince Charming . " 
##3000464 <p> Albert Belle was talking about himself , but he could just as well have had most major league teams in mind . " It 's a great opportunity , " he said , " to start over and try to work things out . " <p> Belle , the Bad Boy of Baseball , is starting a new life with the Chicago White Sox as the highest-paid player in the sport 's history . In making his recent observation about opportunity , he was alluding to his behavior as a member of the Cleveland Indians . But spring training begins Saturday , and just about every team except the Yankees will find it the beginning of an opportunity to start over and try to work things out right this time . <p> Belle , who hit 48 home runs and drove in 148 runs last season , is Exhibit A in the evidence that the White Sox are one team trying to get it right . Eleven million dollars a year say they are . Belle 's defection from the Indians could change the balance of power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of moves could alter the balance of power in any division , even the National League East , where the Atlanta Braves will seek a sixth successive division championship . The Florida Marlins , trying to counteract their sliding attendance , spent $89 million on free agents and about $7.5 million more for a new manager and believe they are ready to challenge the Braves . <p> The Yankees and the Braves , last year 's World Series opponents , will join 13 other teams , including the Mets , in opening camp with initial pitch-and-catch workouts Saturday . The Boston Red Sox , who will not have Roger Clemens in their camp for the first time in 14 years , and the Detroit Tigers , whose pitchers do n't resemble Clemens , will be the last to begin workouts , scheduling their spring training to start Feb. 19 . <p> Teams enter spring training with one significant element of their lives behind them and one ahead . For the first time in four years , they face no threat of labor problems , and for the first time ever , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ <p> The advent of interleague play will prompt at least one change in routine in American League camps . Instead of spending all of their workout time throwing and running , pitchers will have to try their hand at hitting , too . When A.L . teams play in N.L. parks this year , designated hitters will disappear from their lineups and pitchers will bat in their places . <p> That means Bob Tewksbury , new to the pitching staff of the Minnesota Twins and a proponent of baseball without designated hitters , will have a chance to show off the swing that produced 2 hits in 65 times at bat for the San Diego Padres last season . The White Sox figure to benefit more from Belle 's bat than the Twins do from Tewksbury 's . <p> The tandem of Frank Thomas and Belle is one of two that were created by moves that pose frightening prospects for pitchers . In a fit of convenient memory loss , the Oakland Athletics put aside the aggravation they used to get from Jose Canseco and acquired him from the Red Sox @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home run king last year . <p> But Clemens 's departure from Boston will be harder for Fenway Park denizens to accept . The veteran pitcher was the soul of the Red Sox , and a sore-armed Bret Saberhagen is n't about to appease the fans . <p> Besides luring Clemens north , the Toronto Blue Jays added a pair of players from the Pittsburgh Pirates ' purge of high-paid people . Carlos Garcia and Orlando Merced have moved to Canada , while their teammates Jeff King and Jay Bell are now with the Kansas City Royals . <p> The Pirates ' manager , Jim Leyland , has gone south , joining Moises Alou , Alex Fernandez and Bobby Bonilla in the migration to the Marlins . Alou also was part of an exodus from Montreal . The Expos have also lost Mel Rojas to the Chicago Cubs and Mark Leiter to the Philadelphia Phillies and have traded Jeff Fassero to the Seattle Mariners . <p> Among other players with new addresses , John Wetteland is in Texas , Matt Williams in Cleveland , Jimmy Key in Baltimore , David Wells @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York with the Mets , Ruben Sierra in Cincinnati , Eric Davis in Baltimore and Eddie Murray in Anaheim , now the name as well as the home of the Angels . <p> Some players may yet move to new addresses during training camp . The Braves could trade David Justice or Fred McGriff , the Yankees Paul O'Neill and Cecil Fielder , the Padres Rickey Henderson and the Red Sox John Valentin . The Braves and the Yankees want to reduce their payrolls , but Manager Joe Torre will very likely talk Fielder out of sticking with his trade demand by assuring him that he will be the Yankees ' everyday designated hitter . <p> The Padres , who plan to announce a three-year contract for Greg Vaughn today , would like to trade Henderson because he gives them four expensive starters for three outfield spots . <p> The Red Sox may trade Valentin to open their shortstop job for Nomar Garciaparra , one of the group of attractive rookies who will spend the spring trying to show they are ready to start in the majors . The group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rolen of Philadelphia , pitchers Jason Dickson of Anaheim and Bartolo Colon of Cleveland , outfielders Mike Cameron of the White Sox and Vladimir Guerrero of Montreal , and second baseman Wilton Guerrero and outfielder Roger Cedeno of Los Angeles . <p> Cedeno will most likely become the Dodgers ' center fielder if Brett Butler decides he does n't want to or ca n't continue playing in the aftermath of throat cancer . <p> Other players will use the spring to come back from less threatening ailments : Seattle 's Randy Johnson from back surgery and Russ Davis from a broken leg , Wells from the broken finger he suffered in a fight , Pat Kelly from an extended shoulder problem to see if he can win the Yankees ' second base job , Ray Lankford of St. Louis and Jeff Montgomery of Kansas City from rotator-cuff surgery , Ken Caminiti of San Diego and Carlos Perez of Montreal from shoulder surgery , Dante Bichette of Colorado from knee surgery , Darren Daulton of Philadelphia from knee problems and three young Mets pitchers , Bill Pulsipher , Jason Isringhausen and Paul @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ players will work to come back from poor performances last season . A prime example of this group is Jim Abbott , who had a disastrous 2-18 record for the Angels . <p> Some players , most notably Cal Ripken Jr. , will be working out at new positions this year . Ripken has reluctantly agreed to shift from shortstop to third base so the Orioles can put Mike Bordick at short and improve their overall infield defense . The Blue Jays are moving Joe Carter from left field to first base . <p> Some teams will have new infields to scrutinize . The San Francisco Giants will have J. T. Snow at first , Jeff Kent at second , Jose Vizcaino at short and Mark Lewis at third . Kansas City will have King at first , Jose Offerman at second , Bell at short and Craig Paquette at third . <p> In another new sight of spring camp , the Reds will have a new old outfielder in camp . He is Deion Sanders , an erstwhile baseball player who played only football last year . <p> The Dodgers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first time in 21 years . He is Bill Russell , who took over from Tommy Lasorda last summer . Among six new managers this year is Larry Dierker of Houston , who never has managed or coached but has spent the last 18 years in the Astros ' broadcasting booth . Now there is one person who will have to work hard to get it right this spring . 
##3000466 <p> Upon first beholding the Official All-Star Cafe last week , Walt ( Clyde ) Frazier , that signifier of cool , that wizard of words , swayed slightly and said , " It is . " <p> Sonic booms of " We Will Rock You " rattled the glass of the trophy cases , slapped banquettes shaped like baseball mitts , ricocheted off video screens showing Wayne Gretzky scoring , scoring , endlessly scoring , then hammered through the hoop in Frazier 's head , nothing but noise . <p> Finally , he said , " It is , ah , overwhelming . " <p> I asked , " Have you eaten yet ? " <p> We watched plates of fried onion rings scud by , spicy-hot Buffalo shrimp , chili and cheese nachos with jalapenos , with guacamole , and he touched his stomach , still flat at age 51 . <p> " I 'm a little full , " he said , smiling that sweet , sly Clyde smile . " I may have put one or two extra pecans in my yogurt this morning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ truest , temple , cozier than any stadium , less remote than any hall of fame , as loud as any arena and less pretentious than Niketown . It is the shrine to the high concept that sports has crossed over , that it is an entertainment form as worthy of its own theme restaurant as rock-and-roll or the blues or even the movie dream machine ; no wonder it shares ownership with Planet Hollywood . <p> When I offered this theory to Aimee Geller , my guide for a week and the cafe 's 28-year-old public-relations manager , she agreed that I was simply too old to write this story . <p> Nevertheless . <p> On Monday , at the Official All-Star Cafe , Nate ( Tiny ) Archibald and George ( Iceman ) Gervin , two of the National Basketball Association 's official 50 greatest players , talked about giving back to the community while promoting a line of sportswear . Tiny , on a lunch break from his Board of Education job , was giving back in Harlem . Iceman , who runs his own youth center , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Ottis Anderson , the Giants ' most valuable player in the 1991 Super Bowl . <p> The official announcement was that Torrel D. L. Harris of Unique Sports Generation , a man who claimed invention of the $100 reversible warm-up suit five years ago , had received a licensing contract with the National Football League . That visionary fashion statement was part of a package that included the need for more African-American entrepreneurs and more mentoring programs for at-risk youth . It was unclear what was being sold here , or in what order . <p> No one would discuss the cost of the event , which included sandwiches and models , but it was a double-sided garment . Unique Sports got a setting that would draw the news media and dazzle business contacts . The cafe got yet another photo opportunity of sports celebrities passing through , which would draw more starstruck customers -- lunch-hour workers , Thursday night boozers , tourists , birthday parties , families and game-day fans . <p> Tuesday 's appearance by Sugar Ray Leonard to re-announce his Hector Camacho fight and give the cafe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jersey public-relations company , said it did n't want his photo op blurred by competing events , especially the previous day 's Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield news conference held , alas , on the 50th floor of the Equitable Life Assurance Society building . It is a goal of Aimee Geller 's to book Tyson for the cafe , which you must not think is without standards ; she recently turned down an unsanctioned arm-wrestling tournament . <p> So it was a good day to visit the sacred Sheen Room off the main bar and restaurant area ( known as " the Stadium " ) . The Sheen Room houses much of the actor Charlie Sheen 's memorabilia collection . There is the camel-hair coat of Babe Ruth and the Willie Mays " bobbinhead " doll . Brilliantly juxtaposed with the fencing costume of the Olympian Peter Westbrook , who is of Asian and African descent , was a baseball signed by Cap Anson , the Chicago player-manager who led the late 19th-century campaign to purge baseball of black players . <p> Walt Frazier was the star celeb last Wednesday . The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 35 male and female high school athletes chosen for special Scholastic Assessment Test tutoring by the Kaplan Educational Centers . <p> Frazier , typically quirky and smart , told the youngsters to look past the " hypocrisy " of the N.B.A. , which " tells you to stay in school unless you 're seven feet tall . " Frazier , the oldest of nine and raised in the segregated South , said he had become a star by working hard . Even this speech , he said , was the product of endless preparation . These days , he spends as much time snatching words from dictionaries , using them in sentences on friends , refining them on the air , as he once practiced dribbling , stealing and shooting . <p> While the athletes picked at greasy fried things , Frazier expounded on his refrigerator-light theory of motivation . With no food in the refrigerator to absorb its glare , the light is brighter ; that can be used as a " beacon for success . " His own son did n't make the N.B.A. , said Frazier , because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not been to the cafe , which officially opened on Dec. 18 , 1995 . He is a stay-at-home , he said , who drinks herbal teas and works out three to four hours a day for " vanity . " One can not imagine the cafe 's basic $8.50 hamburger , a hockey puck on a cold doughy bun , entering that pampered body . Celebrities and their parties are routinely fed free and protected from the news media ; paparazzi are barred , said Geller . <p> On Thursday evening , I strolled through the Times Square area , a neon butterfly struggling out of a raffish , rotting cocoon . The Official All-Star Cafe will fit well in the new Disneyville . It might also become the central sports watering hole , as had once Toots Shor 's and Jack Dempsey 's ( the former champion sat in the window ) in the days when midtown was the city 's plaza . <p> Outside the cafe , the theme team beamed down , the marquee " owners " -- Andre Agassi , Joe Montana , Ken Griffey Jr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Los Angeles Kings uniform . Tiger Woods , a recent addition , will soon be up there , too . <p> Gretzky , the only all-star who lives in Manhattan , comes the most often . He is chatty and a favorite with waiters . He tips well . <p> There was a small sign out front that Brett Favre would appear at 8:30 . On my way in , I passed through two gift shops . Caps with the cafe 's logo are $15 and $20 . <p> The Sky Box area , a mezzanine above the Stadium , was packed with St. John 's staff and fans supporting Fran Fraschilla 's weekly WEVD radio show , which was broadcast through the restaurant and shown on closed-circuit television . Few listened , or donned the Fraschilla masks at every table , courtesy of LaFres Ford of Queens . <p> Fraschilla , the lively new basketball coach of the Red Storm , is a 38-year-old graduate of Brooklyn College who admits he loves to talk . While coaching in Ohio , he said , he would practice broadcasting on long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ often takes recruits to the cafe , which he says has the up-tempo atmosphere that helps sell a school and a city . <p> After the show , the crowd waited for Favre to arrive by stretch limo from David Letterman 's TV show . The lure of the cafe , said a man in a Dolphins jacket ( " I just like the colors , I 'm a Giants fan " ) was inexpensive food ( " for Manhattan " ) and simply the very best place to watch a game . With 60 screens , you ca n't escape the game . <p> I left soon after Favre presented the Official All-Star Cafe with a copy of the $19.95 Polygram and N.F.L. Films video of the Green Bay Packers ' championship season . When asked when this collectible would be available for purchase , the quarterback amiably said he only knew it had a happy ending . <p> I left then . Meanwhile , out at the Official All-Star Cafe in Las Vegas , Nev. , Dennis Rodman was scheduled to present memorabilia from his new movie , " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York , America 's second most famous kicker , Lance Alstodt , who won a million dollars with a field goal at halftime of last Sunday 's Pro Bowl , was scheduled to bring a hundred friends to dinner . The Manhattan investment banker would present the cafe with the jersey he wore for the kick . <p> I would miss that , too . But I would surely return , I promised Geller , my guide , when she booked O. J. Simpson to come and donate his golf clubs . 
##3000467 <p> Timing , measuring , poking and prodding are annual rites for those college players selected to participate in the National Football League scouting combine , and it was going on again this weekend in advance of the draft on April 19-20 . But besides the physical scrutiny , the players are subjected to psychological testing . <p> It 's no secret that the Giants give one of the most extensive psychological tests to the players . The exam has 462 true-and-false and fill-in-the-blank questions . In his parting comments as coach , Dan Reeves derided the team 's use of the psychological test as a measure for the future success of a player . <p> Are the Giants getting much from their psychological testing ? Some of the players are n't sure . <p> " I do n't know what they could possibly get out of it , " Tulane running back Jerald Sowell said . " I just tried to answer the questions as honestly as possible . " <p> Marcellus Wiley , a defensive lineman from Columbia , took the Giants ' psychological test at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by some of the questions . <p> " There were questions like : Do you wet the bed ? Are you afraid of the dark ? " he said . " They ask the same questions about five different ways . I think they were trying to see if you can stay awake or stay focused . " <p> Wiley had a much easier time with the N.F.L. 's psychological test , the Wunderlick Test . " Each question got progressively better , " Wiley said . " I answered about 50 in 12 minutes . " A Feather in Columbia 's Cap <p> Being at the combine was a heady experience for Marcellus Wiley , who said he could n't recall the last player from Columbia to play in the N.F.L. <p> " I heard that people from Columbia do n't even get this far , " said Wiley , who expects to receive his bachelor 's degree in sociology in the spring . <p> After the Lions went 3-6-1 in 1993 , Wiley said , he could n't imagine that the N.F.L. would be knocking at his door . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contention for the Ivy League championship . The team finished 8-2 . An invitation to the combine capped a nice season on the field for Wiley , who had 17 tackles for losses in 1996 . <p> " I was excited , " Wiley said , regarding a trip to the combine . " I thought about it all the time , especially last year when I felt I would have the opportunity to play some good football . I received the invitation in December . It was good that they wanted me , not because I went to Columbia , but because they realize that I have the talent to make it to the next level . " <p> At 6 feet 4 inches and 257 pounds , Wiley bench-pressed 225 pounds 28 times , which is good for a player from any college . Wiley believes his teammate Rory Wilfork , a linebacker , is a good N.F.L. prospect , but he was not invited to the combine . Trophy Quarterbacks <p> How much is a Heisman Trophy worth in the N.F.L. ? Not much for the recent winners @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won the Heisman in 1993 , was n't even drafted and is now a point guard for the Knicks . And the 1996 winner , Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel , is n't deluding himself . <p> Of his winning the Heisman , he said : " The N.F.L. is such a different level than college . All that means in their minds is that you 've garnered some attention and caught their eye . " <p> Wuerffel is n't expected to be a high draft pick because N.F.L. teams are n't enamored of his arm strength . He said he has dealt with criticism of his abilities since he has been playing football and he does n't worry about the knocks against him heading into the combine or the draft . <p> " To be honest , I have n't followed it , " Wuerffel said . " I 've never gotten caught up in what people have said . If the opinions have changed , then I hope they 've changed for the better . <p> " When I was coming out of high school , I had college coaches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . I do n't have a cannon arm , but I hope to improve along the way . Come game time , I get the job done . " Jets Have a Role Model <p> Reinard Wilson , a Florida State defensive tackle , is using the Jets ' Hugh Douglas as motivation . Many people did n't think that Douglas , at 6-2 , had the height to be an effective pass rusher , but he has blossomed into one of the best young defensive ends in the game . Wilson is facing the same type of concerns about his stature that Douglas faced . <p> " He came in and helped out a lot of guys his size , " Wilson said . " People say , ' How can he play against guys who are 6-7 , 6-8 and he 's just 6-1 or whatever ? ' He came in that rookie year and proved that you have to go by what type of player you 've got and how much hunger he has rather than going by looks . " <p> Wilson said he is 6-2 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rusher , using both speed and power to get to the quarterback . He had 35.5 sacks in his career . Pace Goes Private <p> As is the case with most players who expect to be selected in the top portion of the first round of the draft , offensive tackle Orlando Pace of Ohio State declined to participate in the agility drills or be timed in the 40-yard dash . Pace arrived Thursday , took a physical , was interviewed by teams and left Friday . He will conduct a private workout for interested teams at Ohio State on March 14 . <p> The Jets ' new coach , Bill Belichick , who arrived in Indianapolis on Friday , said he did n't get a chance to talk with Pace . The Jets have the No. 1 overall pick in the draft and Belichick said there will be plenty of time to get acquainted with Pace and other players the team may consider . <p> Belichick said there was n't any comparison between his current situation -- he will step down to become assistant head coach as soon as Bill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ final season as head coach of the Browns in Cleveland . <p> " That situation in Cleveland was off the charts , " he said . " This is a two-foot putt with no break . " Broncos Make Offer to Sharpe <p> The Denver Broncos have offered Shannon Sharpe a $1.75 million contract , which could make him the highest-paid tight end in the N.F.L. next season . <p> Sharpe , a Pro Bowl player who is eligible for free agency , has been designated as one of Denver 's two transition players , which means the Broncos have the right to match any other team 's offer . <p> " I 'm flattered they think enough of me to make me their transition player and tender me that offer , " Sharpe said Friday . " I do n't like to do a lot of bragging , but I think my numbers speak for themselves . " <p> Last season , the 27-year-old Sharpe became only the fourth tight end in N.F.L. history to have more than 1,000 yards receiving . He was selected to the Pro Bowl during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision to make Sharpe a transition player requires it to offer him a 20 percent raise over his salary-cap pay last season , which was $1.46 million . However , the Broncos were just $600,000 under the league 's $40.7 million salary cap in the 1996 season , and six starters are eligible for free agency . 
##3000468 <p> For the Yankees , spring training 1997 comes too soon . They are still celebrating World Series 1996 . For the Detroit Tigers , on the other hand , spring training can not start soon enough . The faster 1997 begins , the sooner they can forget about the nightmare that was 1996 . <p> The Tigers , looking more like an expansion team than the expansion teams of recent years , lost 109 games , matching the 1979 Toronto Blue Jays for the most losses since the Montreal Expos and the San Diego Padres each lost 110 in their rookie seasons of 1969 . Last year was a rookie season , too , for the Tigers ' manager , Buddy Bell . <p> " It was n't easy by any means , " Bell said . " It was n't easy for me . It was n't easy for anybody . It takes a lot of time and patience . Understanding it and preparing yourself for it makes it a little easier . But because of the competitive nature of most of us , it 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do . " <p> Bell , who spoke about his first season before learning last week that his wife had tonsil cancer , said he had hoped the Tigers would have more talent than they turned out to have . They had the lowest batting average in the American League , struck out the most , had the highest earned run average , gave up the most hits , walked the most batters and committed the most errors . <p> " There were probably some things I could 've done better to make things easier for everybody , " Bell said . " I was probably a little too reactive at times . I think things are going to get better than most people think . At least I prefer to think that way . " <p> Randy Smith , the team 's general manager , has been active during the winter , making trades and claiming players off the waiver wire , but dramatic improvement is not expected , at least not until the Tigers develop a staff of pitchers instead of just having a pitching staff . <p> " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Double A , " Smith said , " but the upper levels of the organization were n't stocked with talent before we got here . " <p> Smith became general manager after the 1995 season and hired Bell to manage 10 days later . <p> " Absolutely not , " Bell said when asked if he had any regrets about taking the job . " There were times I wondered what I was doing here , but I 'm obsessed with the Tiger organization . I 'm more obsessive about it now than I 've ever been . At the beginning , I really did n't care about managing one way or another . I became interested because they have the same philosophy as I have . I felt comfortable we could turn this thing around . I 'm totally caught up in this stuff now . " <p> Bell 's Tigers won only 13 of their first 59 games , improved markedly around midseason , then finished the season with an 11-37 stretch that was little better than their start . <p> " We had a lot of guys @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been here , " Bell said , explaining the late-season regression . " That 's no knock on them . Some of the guys we brought up will be big-league players . We just needed to see them to know where they were at as far as how far away from the big leagues . We found out . " <p> The Tiger experience was n't a bust for everybody . Terry Francona , the third-base coach , got a managing job out of it . The Philadelphia Phillies figured that the experience the 37-year-old Francona gained with a 109-loss team would help him manage them this year . <p> Asked what he learned last year , Francona said : " I learned I would never want to go through it again . It 's tough . But we stuck together pretty good , the players and the coaches . A lot of that is attributed to Buddy . It was real tough on him . I know it wore on him a ton , but he handled it great . Hopefully , I was smart enough to learn from Buddy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no coincidence that the two players who participated in last week 's player-umpire summit meeting , David Cone and Brian McRae , were clients of Steve Fehr . A labor lawyer who has represented the union his brother Donald heads , Fehr has a habit of getting his players involved in players association activities . It is a trait he perhaps picked up from a former associate , Richard Moss , who as an agent and as former general counsel of the association urged his clients to become active . <p> Cone , the Yankees pitcher and American League player representative , has gone from being a silent observer to being the union 's most articulate spokesman . <p> " David was always interested and he was involved a little bit back in his Mets days , " Fehr said . " Then he just showed up in ' 94 , started going to things and became very involved . " Fehr referred to the start of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement . <p> McRae , an outfielder with the Chicago Cubs and an alternate National League representative , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fehr said . <p> " We 've talked for years about issues , and he started doing some stuff , " Fehr added . " He came to the board meeting in December and he was elected to it . " <p> Cone and McRae were teammates with the Kansas City Royals in 1993-94 , then were traded on consecutive days in April 1995 , less than a week after the strike ended . A Post-Holiday Bonus <p> Players have been receiving checks in recent days that give many of them a sum tantamount to the new minimum major league salary of $150,000 . <p> The players association , which at one time had a strike fund close to $200 million , has distributed the remaining $150 million or so , money that was accumulated through the withholding of players ' licensing money . A player in the majors from 1991 through 1995 is receiving a check for about $148,000 . <p> At its meeting in December , the union 's executive board voted to begin withholding licensing money again , starting with last season 's revenue . Some of that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a 2.5 percent levy in 1996 and 1997 on salaries of players on teams ' 25-man major-league rosters . A Kind of Home-and-Home <p> In 1996 , the Mets and the Yankees were not scheduled to play any home games on the same dates . Neither were the Chicago Cubs and White Sox . The San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics had three conflicts , two in April , one in August . <p> The 1997 schedule has the Mets and the Yankees home on the same dates six times in April , for 6 of the Mets ' first 12 Shea Stadium games and 6 of the Yankees ' first 13 Yankee Stadium games ; the Cubs and the White Sox home on the same dates 4 times in each team 's first 13 home games , and the Giants and the Athletics home together 10 times in the opening month , out of the Giants ' first 14 games and the A 's first 12 games . <p> The unusual schedule , the schedule-makers said , is the result of a desire to open the season in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ <p> " After last year 's winter , it was decided to go with some warm-weather scheduling , " Katy Feeney of the National League said . " If both leagues are in a warm-weather configuration , you 're going to have conflicts . " <p> The Yankees and the Mets will both open on the West Coast , playing each of the three teams there , then return to New York for their home openers . The Yankees will play their first home game April 11 , the Mets a day later , when the Yankees also play . <p> " They wanted the East Coast clubs that have the potential to be most adversely affected by bad weather to start on the West Coast , where weather in all likelihood will be better , " Derek Irwin of the American League said . " It 's a structural necessity to have West Coast teams come to New York after New York teams play on the West Coast . " <p> Ardent New York fans will have only one chance to create a doubleheader when the teams are at home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mets play a day game against Cincinnati and the Yankees play at night against Milwaukee . <p> Chicago fans will have three chances to see a day-night doubleheader , including April 8 , when the Cubs play their Wrigley Field opener . San Francisco Bay Area fans can create day-night doubleheaders four times , including successive days , April 22 and 23 . <p> Baseball officials will watch attendance numbers closely to see if the scheduling conflicts have an effect on crowd sizes . 
##3000469 <p> The latest firestorm began when the local Governor scoffed that speed skating is uninteresting , a bit like watching water beetles flit about the surface of a pond . <p> Skating enthusiasts erupted in fury , and some athletes took it as more than just an insult . They said it was one more sign that the 1998 Winter Olympics , which will open here a year from now , are being planned by politicians and bureaucrats without much enthusiasm for sports . <p> The Governor , Goro Yoshimura , who is also vice chairman of the Nagano Olympics organizing committee , has since apologized repeatedly , watched 39 speed-skating races and declared that water beetles are " admirable insects . " <p> Such comments have largely stilled that controversy , but the Nagano Olympics are still beset by financial difficulties , accusations that the organizers have broken promises and squabbles with officials from several sports federations . The Olympics will be held for 16 days , starting Feb. 7 , 1998 , but sparks are still flying about where to begin the men 's downhill ski @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Preparations are going very well in many respects for the first Winter Games to be held in Asia since Sapporo , Japan , was the host in 1972 . The work is basically on schedule , and most of the key projects have been completed , including a grand new hockey stadium called " the big hat " and an impressive ski jump . <p> Japan is nothing if not well prepared , and a new bullet train will whisk tourists in just 90 minutes from Tokyo to Nagano , in central Japan . The " Japanese Alps " that surround Nagano are spectacular , and the local and national Governments are investing more than $10 billion in the Olympics and the rail lines and other infrastructure for it . <p> Nagano itself is a modern jumble of two-story houses and shops , with a population of 360,000 . It is at the same latitude as San Francisco , making it the most southerly city ever to be host for a Winter Olympics , but it is surrounded by 9,000-foot mountain peaks that are covered with snow and are famous in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the city is suffused with a surprising disquiet -- at the cost of the Olympics , at the uncertainty about what to do with the arenas when the Olympics are over and simply at whether the great event will go smoothly . <p> The latest blast came from Hironoshin Furuhashi , a onetime swimming star who now heads the Japanese Olympic Committee . Furuhashi told reporters this month that he had heard " nothing but bad news " about preparations for the Olympics in Nagano . <p> Furuhashi complained that many of the organizing officials do not know much about sports , because they are drawn from business or government , and that they have been " one-sided " in refusing requests from sports federations . He called on the officials to show a more " positive approach toward sporting circles . " <p> One bitter dispute concerns the start of the men 's downhill skiing event . The International Ski Federation has complained that the course is too short , and it wants the starting point moved a bit higher on the mountain . <p> The organizing committee has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a national park . The ski federation notes that ordinary skiers are allowed to use the national park -- some 150,000 use it each season -- but the organizing committee is under pressure from environmentalists and is adamant that there will be no change . <p> Likewise , although the ski jump is widely praised , it is subject to cross winds in the daytime . So the ski federation wants to hold the jump at night , with floodlights , but the organizing committee has refused on the grounds of cost and environmental impact . <p> The International Skating Union , meanwhile , has warned that it may not hold the figure-skating competition in Nagano unless the organizing committee meets various demands , including providing officials a better hotel . <p> Naokichi Nishimura , the deputy director general of the organizing committee , rejects the criticisms and says that the committee has tried to listen to all sides and has consulted with the International Olympic Committee at every step of the way . <p> " We 've been troubled that some people criticize us without looking closely , " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its facilities have revealed other possible problems , with traffic snarled for hours around Hakuba after a World Cup ski-jumping competition last month and capricious weather wreaking havoc with schedules . Another World Cup ski-jumping event at Hakuba last month was canceled by heavy snowfall as were two men 's downhill races last year . In early January , a lack of snow caused nervous moments at a World Cup cross-country competition . <p> World championship competitions in Nagano and environs in freestyle skiing this week and speed skating the weekend of Feb. 14-16 will provide further opportunities for scrutiny . <p> One of the underlying causes of tension has been that the organizing committee is caught between extravagant promises it made in 1991 -- to top Salt Lake City ( which will be the Winter Olympics site in 2002 ) in a closely fought contest for the 1998 Games -- and the apprehensions of local people that they will be stuck with vast bills . The bid was made during Japan 's economic bubble , when stock prices and property prices were soaring and anything seemed affordable , and so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it made at the time . <p> Nagano had said , for example , that its new hockey stadium would have a capacity of 12,000 , but in fact it is only 10,000 , including standing room . Nagano had said that it would fly athletes to a local airport , but instead it will bus them five hours from Tokyo 's main international airport to Nagano . <p> In its bid , Nagano had promised to pay travel expenses of all athletes attending the Games , but now it has put a $1,000 cap on the expenses that it will reimburse per athlete . And despite its promise in the bid that accredited journalists would be given accommodation in the press village for $35 a night , that has been increased to $117 a night . <p> " I think there 's been lots of criticism based on misunderstanding , " said Nishimura of the Nagano Organizing Committee . He said that the unit " has been faithfully putting into practice what Nagano promised . " <p> Nishimura justified the $1,000 cap on reimbursing athlete travel expenses by noting that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all athletes , it had not pledged that it would pay " all travel expenses . " <p> " If you ask me did we break our promise , I would n't want to say so , " mused an official who is helping to plan the Games . " But I ca n't hold my head high and say we kept the promise . " <p> The penny-pinching is the result of a sharp rise in the value of the yen since Nagano won its bid . This currency fluctuation meant that dollar-denominated revenues -- such as the $375 million from CBS for the American television rights -- were worth less and less in Japan . <p> The yen has reversed course and dropped in the last few months , and organizers are praying that it does not regain strength . <p> Public support in Nagano has dwindled in part because of publicly discussed figures that suggest that the city is taking on more than $30,000 in debt for every household to hold the Olympics . <p> " At first , most people were very pleased that the Olympics were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Nagano who before her retirement taught flower arrangement . " But gradually , people have started to realize the true situation . " <p> Chart : " Treading Lightly on Nagano " -- The preparation and construction of the venues for next year 's Winter Games have put an emphasis on environmental protection . Lists various venues and the problems connected with them . ( Source : Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee ) ( pg . B9 ) Map of Japan showing the location of the Venues for 1998 Winter Olympics at Nagano. ( pg . B12 ) 
##3000470 <p> During the first week of training camp , his new coach said he expected him to eventually be the game 's most productive shooting guard . Yet two months into the regular season , Allan Houston recalled Jeff Van Gundy 's statement and thought , " Me ? " <p> At the time , Houston also remembered how his former teammates in Detroit were saying they were better off without him , how his new teammates seemed afraid to give him the ball with the game on the line and how everything about his new job seemed out of kilter . <p> Houston kept telling himself , " There 's a reason I have that money . " ( The Knicks paid $56 million over seven seasons to lure him away from the Pistons last summer . ) " It 's not so much what I have done , but what I will be able to do . " <p> He could not convince himself . " I was putting so much pressure on myself , " Houston said recently about his first few months in New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's and did not seem interested in going to the basket . " And Detroit was playing well . It 's not that I did n't want them to play well , but then you hear , ' Oh , we did n't need Allan anyway . ' Then I 'm starting to think , ' Did I make the right move ? ' <p> " I was thinking that all the time . " <p> Asked if he still sometimes wonders if he made the right decision , he paused for a moment . " I do n't think so , " he said . " It 's a lot easier said than done , I know , but now that I 'm relaxing and starting to feel more comfortable , it 's different . The confidence , you know , it finally came back . " <p> The steady jump shot from the perimeter returned , too , along with his desire to beat his man off the dribble and the medium-range pull-up shot in the lane that always kept his defenders honest . <p> He is shooting .500 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He has made 16 of his last 32 3-pointers , including 4 of 8 Tuesday night in a 99-95 victory over the Rockets . In his most complete performance as a Knick , he scored 17 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and made six straight free throws in the final 18 seconds . <p> John Starks was asked how odd it was for a Knick to have freedom to create . " That 's because there have n't been too many guys capable of going one on one and beating a guy here , " he said . " When Allan is on , he gives you that . " <p> Houston 's improved production is directly related to his mental approach . He also believes his adjustment -- as well as that of Larry Johnson and Chris Childs -- to a low-post offense , with a franchise center in Patrick Ewing , was one that he and Van Gundy worked on . <p> " All of a sudden he 's coaching people who are starting to get more attention than his boys , " Houston said . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me and Chris can do . You ca n't expect him to know just right away . He 's learning us . We 're learning him . Even though we were n't comfortable at certain times , we found a way to win . " <p> Van Gundy said : " When a guy demonstrates to you he deserves something , you go to him . I 've been more willing , particularly in isolation sets , to call stuff for him . He 's gotten good shots . He wants the ball in that situation , and I think it 's important to work with your players on their confidence . " <p> But Van Gundy 's encouraging words in the preseason were lost on the 25-year-old Houston . <p> " That really played on my mind for a while , " Houston said . " I 'm starting to say to myself , ' Why would he say something like that if I 'm going to play 30 minutes ? ' I 'm starting to say all these things to myself when all I had to do was go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " <p> Houston continually battles the " soft player " perception ; his unassuming demeanor and vacant stares on the court do not play well in a city that expects its basketball players to be Bull fighters . <p> " That 's one of the reasons why his game is not as sharp with the move here as it should be , because he 's a caring guy and he 's a sensitive guy and he worries , " said Don Chaney , Detroit 's former head coach and current Knicks assistant . " I 'd like to see him the other way , but that 's his makeup . He has to make that adjustment . " <p> Wade Houston , Allan 's father and coach at the University of Tennessee , has a different explanation . <p> " It 's typical basketball from a coach 's son , " Wade Houston said . " He thinks all five pieces , and sometimes lack of aggression is because you want to get everyone else involved . " <p> The notion that he is too low-key for New York makes Houston @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her of Ace Ventura , the wildly off-beat movie character . " They say everybody you think is quiet has another side to them , " he said . " Well , I do n't think I 'm that extreme . " <p> He and Tamara , whom he met his first year in Detroit , were married last summer . Soon after he signed with the Knicks , they bought their dream home in Greenwich , Conn . <p> " She had list of names of people we 're going to be neighbors with , " he said . " Montel Williams . Ahmad . The Helmsley estate . Mel Gibson . I said : ' These people live around us ? We 're in trouble . ' Every time I saw a name , I saw more money . But the convenience , the location . It 's worth it . " <p> He said he watches as many movies as he can and prefers golf , table tennis and pool over video games . He shot a " career day " 75 in Phoenix while golfing with teammates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when his career day with the Knicks would come . <p> " I thought , everything off the court is going great , " he said . " I love the area , love the married life . But on the court , it seems like I almost would trade being happy there for the happiness I had in other areas . It 's simple . If you 're not doing well in your job , you 're not happy with your life . " <p> Everything came to a head on Dec. 18 , the night he returned to Detroit for the first time since his departure . He finished with 4 points on 1-of-4 shooting , the Knicks were blown out and Houston was booed every time he touched the ball . Grant Hill , who had made no attempt to reconcile a rift between Houston and him , finished with a triple-double . Houston wanted his teammates to pass him the ball more , but he knew he was partly to blame . <p> " There 's no way I should go back to Detroit and get three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have rather gone 1 for 20 . A lot of that was on me , I know . I did n't get it , though . A couple of games this season I really wanted to say , ' What is going on ? ' But there comes a point when you have to look in the mirror and stop blaming everybody else . " <p> Houston said his family and a friend whom he played with at Tennessee , Jay Price , helped him regain his confidence . <p> " We would just go somewhere to a racquet club , play pickup games before practice , " he said . We 'd just talk a lot . I 'd say , ' Well , they 're not doing this . ' And he 'd say , ' Well , you got to do this . ' What I realized is , I could n't expect Jeff or the team to get me going . I had to get me going . <p> " I still have to do that . " <p> Looking back , Houston now understands how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think Mike Tyson doubted himself ? " he said . " Doubting yourself is one thing . But believing in yourself and having confidence , I 've found that that overcomes everything . " 
##3000471 <p> The Jets , unable to make a deal with the New England Patriots for the rights to Bill Parcells as head coach , executed an end-around today . They hired Parcells 's top assistant , Bill Belichick , as head coach for a year and named Parcells as a consultant who will eventually take over . <p> The Patriots ' owner , Robert K. Kraft , responded angrily , calling the Jets ' move " a sham . " He said he would ask the National Football League to review the latest development . <p> And Commissioner Paul Tagliabue , who only last week ruled that Parcells could not coach or serve " in a similar capacity " for any team but the Patriots in 1997 , will be called upon again to resolve a tangled dispute that has bedeviled these two franchises for 10 days . <p> It does n't get much more bizarre than this . <p> The two teams have been at odds since the Patriots played and lost in the Super Bowl on Jan. 26 . Parcells tried to get out of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ season , while the Jets have been trying to bring him and his record of success to a franchise desperate for help . <p> Tagliabue ruled last week that Parcells could not coach the Jets without the Patriots ' permission . Kraft drew tough negotiating lines by demanding the Jets ' top draft pick , No. 1 over all , as part of any deal to make Parcells available to the Jets . <p> The Jets not only balked at that , but they seemingly thumbed their noses at the Patriots today by hiring Belichick , while setting up Parcells in the background as a " consultant . " They said Parcells would become head coach and chief of football operations next year , with Belichick becoming assistant head coach . <p> It was as daring a move as any the Jets have made on the field in recent years , and it infuriated the Patriots , who issued a statement late in the day that said , " This so-called consulting agreement is a transparent farce . " <p> Kraft said the Jets violated Tagliabue 's ruling last week , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the latest development . <p> " People are sick of this , " Kraft said in a telephone interview from Boston . " The public wants people to live up to contracts . Players and teams think they can break them . I never had a negotiation with the Jets . They never put an offer on the table . I do n't like the way the Jets do business . " <p> The N.F.L. said late today that while its legal office had spoken to the Jets on Monday , and knew of the Jets ' intentions , it had neither approved nor rejected the Jets ' unusual plans . In a statement , the league said that if the Patriots asked , it would review the contract between Parcells and the Jets to determine whether it violates the Patriots ' contractual rights . The league said it could take " up to a week " to make a ruling . <p> But Parcells , who spoke by telephone to an auditorium jammed with Jet officials and members of the news media at the Jets ' training complex , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would not be in contact with players . <p> " I 'm not going to be making any final decisions on personnel , " he said . " I 'll act in an advisory capacity . I do n't feel the role of consultant , for a limited number of hours for a limited amount of money , can be termed a ' comparable ' position . " <p> Parcells was in New England taking care of some final details after ending his four-year tenure with the Patriots , whom he coached in the Super Bowl only 10 days ago . He resigned as Patriots coach last Friday and is no longer on their payroll , although he is contractually bound not to coach elsewhere . He will be paid by the Jets this year for his consulting duties . He said he had reached agreement on his salary with the Jets when he does take over as coach and chief of operations . <p> Parcells , who has said in the past that he coaches one year at a time , deflected questions about that by saying his move to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that has produced three Super Bowl appearances and two victories ( with the Giants ) . <p> " This is a little different , " he said . " I 've decided what I want to do the rest of my professional career . " <p> According to Steve Gutman , the Jets ' president , Parcells is to coach at least two years after next season , with Belichick available as a successor when Parcells decides to stop coaching . <p> Parcells seemed to appreciate the potentially difficult position he might be putting Belichick in . <p> What would happen , he was asked , if he were suddenly granted his freedom to coach by the Patriots at a point in the coming Jets ' season when they were , say , 6-2 , or 7-1 ? How could he displace a winning Belichick ? <p> " I would hesitate to come in , " he said . " I 'm not stupid . I may want to leave it alone . " <p> But he suggested that the situation might never happen simply because he might not be a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seriously that will come to fruition , " he explained . " Mr. Kraft says a No. 1 draft pick will be part of the deal and Mr. Hess said he wo n't , which I agree with . " <p> The 44-year-old Belichick said he welcomed the challenge of coaching a Jet team whose 1-15 record last season was the worst in pro football . <p> Belichick is a longtime Parcells associate , having served under him with both the Giants and the Patriots . In between , he produced a 36-44 won-lost record during a five-year stretch as head coach of the Cleveland Browns . They made the playoffs in 1994 , but their final season in Cleveland in 1995 ended in acrimony and in front of empty seats after it was announced they were moving to Baltimore . <p> Belichick , who called the 1995 season " off the charts " because it was so bizarre , was not invited to move on to Baltimore along with the Browns ( now the Ravens ) . <p> Now Belichick jumps into a situation involving his longtime alter ego , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the Jets would have to yield their top pick in the 1997 college draft to get Parcells out of his obligation . But the Jets ' owner , Leon Hess , has told Kraft that that is one deal he would never agree to . <p> So Gutman announced today that not only did the Jets hire Parcells and Belichick , but that they would elevate Parcells to head coach as soon as possible . In other words , if they could arrive at a deal with Kraft , Parcells would immediately step in . <p> When told that Gutman still hopes to make a deal , Kraft said , " But he 's never even negotiated . " <p> In any event , Parcells would be free of any contractual obligations to New England after next Jan. 31 . <p> Thus , the Jets , in a sense , hired their fourth and fifth coaches in a five-year span . Belichick succeeds Rich Kotite , whose two-year record of 4-28 was one of the worst in pro football history . Kotite replaced Pete Carroll , who was given only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Monday to coach New England ) . Carroll had replaced Bruce Coslet , whose last season was 1993 . <p> It is likely this is the first time in the N.F.L. , at least , that a coach ( Belichick ) has been named to the top job with the understanding that he will give it up as soon as a specific coach is available . There have been instances , of course , in which interim coaches were named when the head coach was fired . <p> But Belichick sounded like anything other than a permanent fixture as he contemplated taking over the team . He said he would create an environment of discipline and physical toughness . <p> He also said the Jets ' series of injuries in 1996 were something he might be able to control . <p> " Here was a team that was ahead in almost half their games in the second half and won only once , " he said . " We 'll have to eliminate injuries , whether that 's bad luck or bad technique . Maybe it 's the training program . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " <p> Defensive back Lonnie Young suggested that the Jets made a good deal . " I could n't imagine anyone taking a job for one year , but under the circumstances this is the next best thing , " he said . " It looks like a positive for the New York Jets . Any time Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells are together , it 's just a matter of time before winning takes place . " 