A SIDEWAYS GLANCE : THIS BEEBE WAS BORN TO PLAY - AFTER WIFE DELIVERS.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Don Beebe did not miss the birth of his third child, and is expected to play Sunday against Kansas City.

Induced labor made it possible.

The Packers said Beebe's wife, Diana, gave birth to an 8-pound, 2-ounce girl early Friday after doctors had coaxed the procedure along.

Beebe said doctors had told them that without inducing labor, the baby would have probably been born over the weekend while the Packers were in Kansas City for the game with the Chiefs.

Beebe said he would not have agreed to the procedure if mother or child would have been in any danger.

The couple have two other children, Amanda, 5, and Chad, 2. Beebe said the baby would be named MaKayla Nicole.

Coach Mike Holmgren had said Wednesday that he would have allowed Beebe to miss the game if necessary.

``He's great,'' Beebe said. ``He called Diana and talked to her, too. You know, he's a player's coach. He cares about the family. It's very rare. It's nice to have a guy in a position like that where he cares. Because a lot of them don't. It's `Show up! and that's it.' Mike's not like that at all.''

Akron ready to have a Blast

Akron, meet the Aeros.

It's the third name for the Iowa city's minor-league baseball team, and this one has a good chance of sticking because it was chosen by residents.

Name No. 2, the Blast, lasted about 2-1/2 weeks. It fell victim to a backlash from fans and officials who complained the name was insensitive in the hometown of an astronaut killed in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.

``Aeros was my first choice,'' said team president Greg Agganis. ``I think the name Aeros will fit into our logo and our space concept.''

The team was known as the Canton-Akron Indians while it played at Canton's Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium. Team owner Mike Agganis, Greg Agganis' father, wanted to rename it before moving this season to a new stadium in Akron.