People In Sports -- Mark Fields

Mark Fields: The former Washington State linebacker didn't set the NFL on fire in his first two years with the New Orleans Saints, but that's about to change, according to Coach Mike Ditka.

Ditka, in his first year with the Saints, said Fields has the strength, the athletic ability and especially the speed to be one of the best linebackers ever. The coach said he has never seen a linebacker with Fields' speed.

"None, ever," Ditka said yesterday at the Saints' training camp in La Crosse, Wis. "I thought Wilbur Marshall could run. Nuh-uh. And not only speed, explosion. This guy is really a good football player. I mean, everything is ahead of him. (Lawrence Taylor) on his best day didn't run like this kid runs. I don't think I've ever seen a linebacker run like that. He can be awfully special."

Pete Rose: Baseball's all-time hits leader will be in Cooperstown, N.Y., Sunday, but instead of sitting on the stage with Baseball Hall of Famers during induction ceremonies, he will sign autographs in another part of town.

Because he agreed to a permanent ban from baseball for illegal gambling, Rose is ineligible to be on the Hall of Fame ballot. Each year at this time, the question of if and when he'll petition for reinstatement is asked.

Rose has said he's waiting for a permanent commissioner, but last month he said the time might be right. "For the first time in a long time, baseball - is it safe to say? - has its house in order,"

Rose said.

Interim commissioner Bud Selig, in conjunction with the Executive Council, can lift the ban but refused to comment on the matter yesterday.

Jan Ullrich: Germany's newest sports hero was welcomed home in Bonn the day after completing his Tour de France victory. The German newspaper Bild called his triumph, the first by a German in cycling's premier event, "a day chiseled in the history of sports in Germany."

At a reception organized by Ullrich's team sponsor, Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said he couldn't wish for a better ambassador for Germany. After speeches, the team rode through Bonn to meet the mayor in Market Square, which was packed with at least 20,000 fans. The mayor entered the names of Ullrich and his teammates in the city's "Golden Book," an honor usually reserved for world leaders.

Later, thousands of Germans spilled over the border to watch Ullrich ride in an exhibition in Boxmeer, Netherlands. He barely fought his way through the crowd of 10,000 to reach the starting line.