Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 46

FOCUS OM: Gary Gibbs i 'Hi, my name is Gary Gibbs I'm the Oklahoma football coach! By JOHN COOPER Gannett News Service NORMAN, Okla. Gary Gibbs knows that being an assistant coach under Barry Switzer at the University of Oklahoma can result in one major identity problem. Maybe that's the reason Gibbs, while addressing the media yesterday as the new head football coach at Oklahoma, began at least five statements by saving, "I'm Gary Gibbs Gibbs is Oklahoma interim president David Swank's recommendation to succeed Switzer, who resigned Monday after 16 years at the helm of one of college football's most successful programs. Gibbs' hiring as coach is pending the approval of the Oklahoma Board of Regents. A vote of the seven members will take place today.

Switzer's resignation came months after being under fire for the team being placed on three years' probation and various criminal activities by some athletes, including an alleged gang rape and a shooting at the athletic dormitory. Gibbs, an Oklahoma alumnus who has been the defensive coordinator since 1981, inherits the troubled program at age 36. Switzer was 36 when he took over a probation-riddled program in 1973. The Sooners, including a starting linebacker named Gary Gibbs, won the national championship in 1974. "I see one good thing (about the parallel): I don't have to play any more," Gibbs joked.

"Two-a-days will be easier for me But I also don't see any Dewey, LeRoy or Lucious Selmons walking around campus, either." Gibbs joined the Sooner coaching staff in 1975, working with the offensive line for three seasons before moving to the defensive side of the ball. His defensive squads led the nation in total defense and in pass defense for three straight years (1985-87) and twice finished first in rushing defense (1984 and '86). He was even offered jobs by John Robinson (when he was at Southern California) and Mike Shanahan (with the Los Angeles Raiders), but declined the offers. But he still lived in Switzer's shadow, and apparently will for quite some time. One reporter referred to him as Barry during yesterday's press conference.

"We did not feel we had the time to conduct a national search for a new football coach," Swank said. But let me say even if we had conducted a national search, I don't think we could find another candidate as qualified for the job as Gary is." The search was a short one. Gibbs was picked from a field of three, the others being Sooner offensive coordinator Jim Donnan and assistant head coach Merv Johnson. "Disappointment, hurt," Johnson said in describing his feelings. "But I think we're all professionals.

We recognize these decisions are not easy and we know everybody can't get the job." Athletic director Donnie Duncan said he discussed the vacancy with Switzer, and the resigning coach recommended all three assistants for the position. "He (Switzer) did not pick Gary, nor would I ask him to do that," Duncan said. Gibbs said it is time to remove the cloud that seemingly hovers over the Norman campus. His philosophy on keeping Oklahoma's nose clean is simple. "You do what's right, not what's wrong," Gibbs said.

Number one, I'm responsible for the entire football program at Oklahoma. Number two, they, the players and the coaches, are representatives of this institution all the time. They've got to do what is right. "I'm not going to stand here and say we're never going to have a problem with a player in the future, but I do know we'll do what is right." Gibbs knows the consequences of another run-in with the NCAA. In December, the Sooners were slapped with a three-year ban that included no live television broadcasts or bowl appearances for two seasons.

In resigning, Switzer took a couple of jabs at the NCAA, saying the system doesn't "permit me to buy a pair of shoes or a decent coat for a player whose family can't afford these basic necessities." Gibbs, whose contract along with all Oklahoma coaches' pacts will have a clause allowing the university to release him if he knowingly commits an NCAA infraction, didn't dwell on the subject. "We legislate ourselves as a member of the NCAA," Gibbs said. "Everybody plays on a level field. No one should have a competitive advantage." Associated Press-; New coach: Gary Gibbs, recommended to become Oklahoma's new football coach, is all smiles at yesterday's press conference. Sebra wondering why he's again Phillies' odd man out Theme park unveils plans for stadium 1 I Baseball sit back and hope the Phillies trade him soon.

He said he won't make his decision until Friday. "I'm going to talk to my agent (Barry Meister) and see what he thinks I should do," Sebra said. "I felt like I pitched well. In the five games I started, I was 2-2 with a 3.81 earned run average. That's not bad, but I'm the guy who is getting the shaft.

I don't know why I have to be the punching bag all the time." General manager Lee Thomas admitted that Sebra probably deserved to stick around, but the club decided it would give struggling starters Floyd Youmans, Steve Ontiveros and Bruce Ruffin an opportunity to turn things around. "I talked with Bobby a little bit about moving him to another club and I told him if there was any way I could keep him in the big leagues I would," Thomas said. "So far, I haven't been able to do it. He might not deserve to go down, but that's the way things are." Clearly, Sebra felt that either Youmans, who is 1-4 with a 5.35 earned run average, or Ruffin, who is 0-3 with a 9.74 ERA, should have been sent to Scranton before himself. "How long do you go with these people?" Sebra asked.

"I had three good starts out of five." So, for the next three days, Sebra's agent will be looking to find his client work with another team. If he fails, Sebra will probably report to Scranton. And there is a chance if he remains in the Phillies' system he could find himself back with the major league club in a hurry. How much more time the Phillies are willing to give Youmans, Ontiveros and Ruffin is unclear. BOB SEBRA victim of numbers game However, Thomas' patience is definitely wearing thin with Youmans.

"I look at it this way: If I have to say something to put pressure on Floyd, then Floyd doesn't know what's going on," Thomas said. "We just brought two guys (Terry Mulholland and Dennis Cook) in and if that doesn't tell him something, then there's nothing I can do." New faces, old result JACKSON (AP) Officials with Six Flags Great Adventure and The Cathedra Group Inc. announced plans yesterday to construct a $6 million, baseball stadium at the theme park which they say could be home to a minor league team by 1990. William Leib, chief executive of The Cathedra Group, a Chester-based financial services firm, said the company hopes to attract a Triple-A or Double-A minor league baseball team, which represent the two highest levels of minor league play. If the company succeeds in attracting a team, it would return professional baseball to New Jersey for the first time since the Jersey City Indians moved to Buffalo in 1978 after a brief stay in the Garden State.

All of New Jersey's longtime minor-league clubs left more than 35 years ago. "In April 1990, baseball comes home to New Jersey," Leib said. "We will build one of the finest baseball facilities in the country." The plans call for the stadium to be constructed on 50 acres near the entrance of the Great Adventure theme park. The 5,500 seat structure would be expanded by 3,000 seats by the end of 1990 and eventually to 20,000 seats, officials said. There will be parking for 3,000 cars, they said.

Leib said the plans do not include an attempt to lure a major league team. Cathedra officials are negotiating to secure a team but would not name an organization because of the "sensitivity" of negotiations, Leib said. "Our intention is to bring in the highest level of minor league baseball," said Leib. "We've had negotiations ongoing with several teams. But we'd prefer not to get specific." Ray Williams, president of Six Flags Great Adventure, said the baseball stadium would complement the park's attempt to provide family entertainment.

Williams said the new ballpark would be called "Great Adventure Stadium." The theme park and The Cathe dra Group have signed a letter of intent to enter into a long-term land lease agreement for the stadium. Officials said they hope to begin construction of the stadium as early as this fall if financing is approved, the land lease deal finalized and a team is found. Construction of the park would take between six and eight months, they said. Blake Cullen, who has been named president of the baseball team, said that admission to the ballpark would cost between $5 and $6, and the team could "break even" by drawing an average of 2,500 for its 71 home dates. 3 Officials said the central arid southern New Jersey fan base for the ball club exceeds two million people, which they said is between two and three times more than the fan base for the average minor league team.

In addition, they said they will draw on its base of Great Adventure customers. The theme park drew about two million customers last year, officials said. Cathedra will initially offer 0 luxury skyboxes for corporate use, Leib said. Except for the luxury boxes, beer will not be sold at the stadium, said Williams. Leib said that the park's construction is subject to several levels of governmental approval as well as the company's ability to secure financial backing, but he expressed confidence that "well be playing ball in 1990." The stadium would be managed by Diamond Minors, a subsidiary of the Cathedra Group.

The announcement ends a week of speculation about the ballpark. Officials said newspaper accounts that a hotel complex would be included with the stadium were not true. In making the announcement, Leib referred to New Jersey's hallowed baseball past, noting that the first organized game of baseball was played in 1846, a fact disputed by some historians. Leib also referred to the 1947 Newark Bears as the finest minor league team ever. be taken out of games if they make a mistake." Still, for all the Phillies' problems, there were bright spots.

That was especially evident in the play of centerfielder Len Dykstra, who went 2-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored in the first game and was on base six times in the doub-leheader. He also made a diving catch of Oquendo's line drive to left-center that seemed destined to bring in a couple of more runs in the sixth. Meanwhile, Leyva turned the game over to Roger McDowell with two on and one out in the ninth and he got Pedro Guerrero to ground into an inning-ending double play. "Lenny and Roger did the job for us tonight," Leyva said. "It only one game, but they both did the job we expected from them when we brought them over here." Still, nobody could do much about getting the Phillies a win, even though they jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and stretched it to 3-0 after the third.

Continued from Page 1D stumbling Ready for a bases-clearing double. "He made a good pitch to Pendleton," Leyva said. "He got the ball down and in. He got the ground ball, but we didn't come up with the play." Mulholland wasn't quite as critical of the defense, but the newcomer from San Francisco said he was tiring by the sixth. "I was happy with the way I threw the first five innings," he said "But I was feeling some fatigue in the sixth.

I haven't been in a position where I'm throwing that many innings on a regular basis." Neither was he as pleased as Levya with the pitch that Pend-leon hit. "I would have liked to get it inside a little more," he said. "If he was going to hit it, I was hoping he would pull it foul." Pendleton's double erased a 3-1 deficit and gave the Cardinals the lead for good at 4-3. Levya allowed Mulholland to pitch to one more batter, and Milt Thompson got a ball past Ready for an RBI single that made it 5-3. The Cardinals closed the scoring in the inning when Tony Pena hit an RBI single to center off reliever JeffParrett.

Leyva later conceded that he was thinking of going to Parrett before the inning got out of hand. But he thought it was more important to give a vote of confidence to Mulholland. "I wanted to give him a chance to work out of the inning," he said. "I don't want these new guys coming here thinking they're going to By BOB BROOKOVER Courier-Post Staff PHILADELPHIA Once again, Bob Sebra was a victim of the numbers game. And once again, Bob Sebra had a difficult time understanding why had to be the one shoved aside.

With the Phillies forced to trim their roster by two pitchers yesterday in the wake of their two block-Jbuster trades Sunday, Sebra was outrighted to Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre and Todd Frohwirth was optioned to the same destination. Sebra, a 27-year-old graduate of Gloucester Catholic High School, did not leave the clubhouse quietly and was not sure he would even go back to the Phillies' Triple-A club. has 72 hours to report. Basically, Sebra has two options. He can dutifully go to the minors, or he can quit the game.

He also can Phils extend Levya pact for one year Continued from Page 1D tough year, but I'm glad we've lived through it and now we can move on." Leyva said he has tried to deal with the difficult times by remaining optimistic. "I do have a few things buried inside that I let out once in a great while, but I try to stay positive around the team," he said. With the new additions to the roster, Leyva hopes the team can finish out the season by returning to respectability. "I feel like with the new arms and new people we can be a very good, competitive ballclub," Leyva said. "You hate to put a number on anything, but I'd just like to see us go out and be a little more consistent and win some series.

If we do that we should be able to play .500 or better the rest of the way." Leyva said last night that he wasn't anticipating having any real problem weeding out his excess of starting pitchers. With the subtraction of starter Bob Sebra and reliever Todd Frohwirth before last night's game, Leyva was still left with 11 pitchers, seven of whom are starters. The three pitchers whose jobs are on the line are Steve Ontiveros, Floyd Youmans and Bruce Ruffin. Ontiveros pitched last night and Youmans pitches tonight. Leyva is unsure when Ruffin will get his next start.

"They'll probably make it easy Syracuse tops Barons on Cummings' 4-hitter SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -Steve Cummings gave up only four hits in eight innings and Stu Pederson had two RBIs and a solo home run to lead the Syracuse Chiefs past the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons 6-4 in the International League last night Cummings, 7-3, struck out four and gave up only one earned run, winning his third straight start. Pederson, who went 2-for-3, led off the second inning with a home run, his third of the year, and hit an RBI double in the third innning and later scored on Fransisco Cabrera's single. Alex Infante had two RBIs, one on a fielder's choice in the second inning, scoring Web Garrison, and the other on a squeeze play in the i sixth innning, scorinCabrera. NICK LEYVA excited about the extension on me," Leyva said.

"They'll weed themselves out." Meanwhile, Larry McWilliams continues to bounce back and forth between the bullpen and the starting rotation. Leyva said McWilliams was available in the bullpen last night, but could be inserted back into the starting rotation for Saturday's game against the New York Mets in Shea Stadium. The uniform numbers of the newest Phillies: Lenny Dykstra, No. 4, Roger McDowell, No. 13, Dennis Cook, No.

39 and Terry Mulholland, No. 45. Hitting instructor Denis Menke's number was changed from 4 to 14. The Phillies continue their series with the Cardinals tonight at 7:35 with Youmans (1-4) scheduled to oppose Scott Terry (5-6). Cook (1-0) will make his Phillies debut tomorrow at 7:35 against Cards ace Jose DeLeon (8-5).

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