Sports Update

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Saturday, August 16, 1997

---

Talent finally
catches up with Rainbows

Despite the loss of Mane, the Rainbows
have depth and ability in their receivers

There are receivers with better speed. Some have surer hands. Others run more precise routes.

But what Jason Mane lacked in natural ability, the fifth-year senior wideout for the University of Hawaii made up for in leadership and intensity; the kind you can't teach or manufacture, the type coaches love to have on the team.

Mane won't be with the Rainbows on the field for at least a month after injuring his knee earlier this week, and even that projected return is as tenuous as a head coaching job in Hawaii. Oh, he will be with them on the sidelines and in the locker room, but it's not the same as running flat out, and reaching up and beyond for a spiraling football.

Now, instead of Mane left and Eleu Kane right, junior college transfer Wesley Morris is forced to step up and assume a starting role.

The Compton, Calif., resident is ready for the responsibility. A transfer from Golden West Community College (Calif.), the 22-year-old had an excellent spring for the Rainbows.

He has good speed, a powerful upper body, capable hands and the courage to run the slant pattern down the middle of the field. Green's eyes light up when describing him.

"Wesley is our strongest guy against the bump-and-run coverages," Green said. "He can beat you if you try to come up and challenge him on the line of scrimmage. We like the dimension Wesley gives us."

Royals show renewed
hope in Sardinha deal

Despite virtually conceding yesterday that Dane Sardinha was unsignable, Kansas City Royals general manager Herk Robinson is expected to contact the parents of the former Kamehameha Schools catcher today.

"I talked to him and Art Stewart (director of scouting) in a phone conversation this morning (Friday) and Herk said he will get back to us," said Sardinha's father, Dexter Sardinha.

Dexter Sardinha said Robinson told him not to believe everything he told the Star-Bulletin yesterday morning, and that he was still going to make an effort to sign his son.

Sardinha has a baseball scholarship awaiting him at Pepperdine University and is due to leave for Malibu tomorrow. But he technically is available until class begins on Aug. 25.

Robinson's latest rhetoric apparently keeps the door to pro ball open for Dane Sardinha, the Royals' second-round draft pick, who wants a first-round-sized signing bonus.

Scott Boras, Sardinha's "adviser," is believed to be asking for an amount in the range of $1.5 million.

Boras, who reportedly has been working the negotiations for gratis, would get 5 percent of anything Sardinha receives from the Royals.

The Star-Bulletin has learned that what Sardinha wants could be in the range of the $1.55 million first-round bonus that Boras client Brien Taylor got in 1991.

But Robinson has indicated he is "not even close" to that in his latest offer, turned down Thursday by Boras.

What the Royals want to pay is believed to be between $300,000 and $500,000.

The value of Sardinha's scholarship is $28,580.

"Dane is like Pudge Rodriguez," Dexter Sardinha said. "He proved he can hit during the CABA tournament (four home runs), and I don't think he'll go down much on what they're asking."

That stance led Robinson to remark, "I've never seen less interest in a player to go out," in a phone interview yesterday.

But Dexter Sardinha said his son wants to play pro ball, even though his bags are packed for college.

As for the money to be forsaken by accepting the baseball scholarship, Dexter Sardinha admitted he's lost some sleep over the matter.

"But we started with nothing -- we still have nothing -- yet we get along," he said.

He said he realizes there is always the risk of injury if his son plays three years of college ball with the Waves before going back in the draft.

But Dane Sardinha, the 59th overall selection in the draft, has maintained that his value could rise significantly in that span, and going to college would only help his future.

"Before the end of the (prep) season we told Dane we'd leave it to him," Dexter Sardinha said.

"He believes he's worth much more than the offering and we're standing behind him," said Darneen Sardinha, Dane's mother.