Columnist Dean Juipe: A's Howe has ally in Korach

Art Howe has managed the Oakland Athletics for three seasons. Three uneventful seasons, the team's fans might say.

Yet Oakland's $16.7 million payroll is among the lowest in baseball, and, as a result, victories are hard to come by. The A's won 65 games last season and set 75 as a reasonable goal for 1998.

It appears as if they'll make it, at least by a few.

Nonetheless, Howe is under the gun in the Bay Area and that's an unwelcome happenstance for those who have to work with him or enjoy this very likeable man's presence.

"It's hard for me to be totally objective," said A's broadcaster Ken Korach, who lives in Henderson and who also does UNLV games. "I'm so fond of him personally and he and his staff are so professional it makes for a wonderful environment for me.

"But the rumor mill is working out lots of negative possibilities for his future. He's under some pressure from the press and fans."

Howe's team opened the season 2-10 but has played .500 ball since. Is that good enough to keep his job for 1999?

"The trouble is, no matter who's managing the A's they're up against teams that are outspending us by three or four times," Korach said. "Still, it's been said the front office is considering bringing in a more outgoing guy; they're considering whether the team needs that type of guy, rather than a more easygoing manager like Art is."

Oakland also has a stadium issue it would like to clear up, as the A's -- once rumored to be considering relocating to Las Vegas -- would like to move out of the Coliseum and into a new park. Korach said "it's hard to say" how the scenario will play out. ... Another California team trying to court favor and have a new stadium built is the San Diego Padres. Toward that goal, the Padres are registering voters at their home games with the hope of having a stadium issue pass Nov. 3. ... Voters of another kind -- in the Associated Press college football poll -- are certainly infatuated with the Southeastern Conference this season. Nine of the 12 SEC teams received votes in this week's Top 25 poll. .... If the Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa gets enough votes to win the National League's Most Valuable Player trophy and if he leads the league in strikeouts, as he's threatening to do, he would be the first player since Brooklyn's Dolph Camilli in 1941 to be MVP and strikeout leader in the same season. ... If the Community College of Southern Nevada decides to initiate a sports program, the school's nickname has already been decided. It'll be the Coyotes. ... DePaul University, which is celebrating its 100th year, is considering changing its nickname from the Blue Demons. ... If you see the USC football team and notice something different, it's the uniforms. The uniform makers goofed and made the numerals on the back of the jerseys too big, but the Trojans decided to keep them anyway.

The Maloof family, which splits its residences between Las Vegas and Albuquerque, appears as if it will take advantage of an option to buy a majority ownership in the Sacramento Kings. The Maloofs purchased 24 percent of the Kings in January and can buy out the 29 percent currently owned by Jim Thomas when that option comes available to them early next year. ... The Good Lord, a fantastic race horse who retired to a quaint ranch in Las Vegas, is 28 years old "and doing just fine" according to his owner. Ingrid Hines said "he's still around" and living the good life at her ranch near Eldora and Lindell streets. Those who pass by the site are apt to be amazed to see horses -- and ostriches -- frolicking just a block or two off a main artery (West Sahara near Jones). ... At the just concluded U.S. Open tennis tournament, concessionaires served 555,000 fans 5 tons of hot dogs, 30 tons of ground beef and 3,000 Maine lobsters. ... The Open proved once again that men's tennis has become boring at its top level, as players smash one high-tech serve after another past their opponent. Thomas Johansson had the hardest single serve, 136 miles per hour. The ATP Tour record is 149. ... When HBO's "Don King: Only In America" movie wins two Emmy Awards, as it did Sunday, it must have been a poor year for made-for-TV movies. ... Idle thought: Has Dallas Cowboys' kicker Richie Cunningham ever met actor Ron Howard?

Some people don't like it that Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones roams the sideline during Dallas games, but you would too if you owned an NFL team. It's exciting. ... NFL quarterbacks who have made the most consecutive starts: Green Bay's Brent Favre with 95, and Tampa Bay's Trent Dilfer with 50. ... The Chicago Bears have not sent a player to the Pro Bowl for four years. ... Despite going 4-12 last year, the Bears have the second most difficult schedule in the NFL this year. ... Home-run records are falling but two other very old single-season hitting records have survived another year. The RBI record of 190 by the Chicago Cubs' Hack Wilson in 1930 will stand for at least another year, as will the doubles record of 67 by Boston's Earl Webb from 1931. ... Starting pitchers say 30 victories is impossible in this era of multiple relievers, meaning the 31 victories by Detroit's Denny McLain in 1968 may never be topped. ... The new college football bowl system, which is designed to single out a national champion, has its flaws and potential for controversy. Everything's OK as long as there are only two teams worthy of consideration and they're matched in a bowl showdown. But three times since 1979 there were regular seasons that ended with three teams with no losses, and there's no solution for that scenario.

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