`the Big Ragu' Is Still Singing

Accountant Testifies For Solomon 
Owner Of Former City Garbage Station 
Seeks Injunction While Appealing Dep 
Decision To Deny It A Permit To Operate 
Its Transfer Station

Thursday, August 29, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The Carolina Panthers could open their new stadium
by launching their new "Rocket" -- as early as the opening kickoff. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Raghib "Rocket" Ismail -- who went to Wilkes-Barre's Meyers High School --
worked out with the Panthers for the first time Wednesday, four days before
they open regular-season play for the first time in Ericsson Stadium, their
new facility in downtown Charlotte. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Everything's kind of happening so fast," said Ismail, who was traded from
the Raiders on Sunday and spent Monday flying from Oakland to Charlotte. The
Panthers had the day off Tuesday, when Ismail met with his new coaches and
began a crash course to learn the Panthers' play book. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I've really been concentrating on trying to get some basics down, trying
to get as familiar as possible with the offense and making sure that I can get
better," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ismail said that if he were to play Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, it
likely would be in a very limited role on offense. His best bet, he said,
might be on special teams. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That means that if the Panthers were to receive the opening kickoff, Ismail
could be the first Carolina player to touch the ball -- a new player on a new
team in a new stadium. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ismail considered the scenario for a moment, broke into a smile and said:
"That could be a possibility." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Once Ismail gets comfortable with the Panthers' offense, Carolina will look
for him to use his superior speed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For now, though, coach Dom Capers is more concerned with getting Ismail
completely healthy. Ismail arrived in Charlotte with a sore ankle, and the
Panthers held him out of the contact portions of Wednesday's practice. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He's not 100 percent yet," Capers said, "and the most foolish thing we can
do is stick him in there if he's not ready. I don't want to take any chances
of setting that ankle back." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Great achievements had been expected of the 5-foot-11-inch, 175-pound
Ismail when he left the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts after two
seasons and joined the Raiders three years ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But when Oakland sent him to the Panthers for an undisclosed draft choice,
Raiders coach Mike White said Ismail had failed to develop into the star that
everyone expected. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ismail improved his yards-per-catch average every year with the Raiders,
but he never caught more than 34 balls in a season and had only nine touchdown
receptions. Ismail averaged 17.5 yards on 28 catches last year, when he scored
three touchdowns. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Even though others might have been disappointed in his performance with the
Raiders, Ismail wasn't. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I was always happy just because I was improving," he said. "I was getting
better from the standpoint of my relationship with the quarterback, my
relationship with the guys in the system. I never felt that I wasn't gaining
ground." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

`rocket' Zooms Into Panther Territory