Deion unlikely to return
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Not only was Deion Sanders inactive against the Bengals on Sunday, but he's also unlikely to play for the Reds next season.
Deion Sanders
Sanders, the Dallas Cowboys cornerback who missed his second consecutive game with a broken rib, remained noncommittal about his baseball future.
''I'm going to do what the Lord's going to lead me to do,'' said Sanders, who rejoined the Reds last season after a one-year hiatus from baseball. ''My steps are being directed by the Lord.''
But Sanders declined to take a step toward playing center field for Cincinnati by rejecting the Reds' recent offer of salary arbitration. The Reds can negotiate with him through Jan. 9; if no deal is reached by then, they cannot approach him until May 1.
Reds General Manager Jim Bowden, asked how talks regarding Sanders are proceeding, sounded pessimistic as he borrowed the two-sport celebrity's words: ''It's in the Lord's hands now.'' Sanders stole 56 bases and hit .273 for the Reds last season, but hit just .229 from July on.
Sanders did refer to baseball as he guessed how he might have played against the Bengals.
''I told the guys I would have made some big hits today, because I got a few hits in this stadium,'' he said.
Sanders joked about early-arriving fans giving him a warm reception as he walked onto the field with teammates during pregame drills. ''This may be the first place they did,'' he said.
Asked to evaluate local fans in light of Bengal defensive end Dan Wilkinson's ''I hate Cincinnati'' remark, Sanders said that people here tend to respond to sincere effort:
''I think fans judge you by what you give to them. Not monetarily, what you give to them on the field. If you give a lot to them, they give a lot to you.''
Sanders' contribution to the Cowboys was limited to assisting in pregame drills, leading prayers and providing moral support on the sidelines.
He said he would have accompanied the Cowboys even if they hadn't been visiting his baseball haunt. ''Those are my men,'' he said. ''Plus, I have to say the prayer before the game.''