THE BATTALION
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1979
Page 11
the sports ^
Aggies come back
to College Station
PLAQUE SALE
TO SUPPORT YOUR CAMPUS CHEST.
viewpoint
By SEAN PETTY
Battalion Staff
Whe eyes of Texas
were upon Colorado
Here we are back at school after yet another spring break.
Everyone spent the quick nine days in different ways. Some people
went to the Texas coast (where the sun failed to show its tanning face).
Some went to different parts of the country and some people just
regrouped at home after a tough half-semester. Still others headed
northwest to the mountains to cast their lot on the ski slopes.
j|was one of those who opted for the cold of the mountains and the
risk of breaking every bone in my body instead of slowly sipping suds
by the seashore soaking up the sun’s rays. I was ready to melt the
snow on a few slopes.
I We’ve all heard “The Eyes of Texas are upon you” (yeah, I know,
.soijbds like hell) but those words never made more sense than during
|our week-long stay in Crested Butte, Colo. The size and reach of the
ang arm of Texas followed me everywhere.
THE FIRST PLACE, it took over 13 hours just to get out of
s, our Texas. And once we got to Colorado, all I saw were Texas
kse plates along with many Oklahoma plates.
jiad heard that most people who frequent the Colorado ski resorts
i from Texas but now I believe Texas should be given credit for
of Colorado’s income. Just as Texas oil and gas flows to all parts
e country, so goes Texas money like a pipeline to the Colorado
In tains.
| Everywhere I walked or skied I heard the familiar twang of South-
accents. I was haunted by people flying down the slopes wearing
boy hats. As I rode the ski lifts, I looked down on people wearing
Her shirts, Texas Longhorn hats, Dallas Cowboy hats, SMU hats
■Houston Oiler t-shirts. The barrage of Texas paraphernalia was
■^EN ON THE LIFTS, I ask people where they were from
Hthe most common answer was Texas. I came to the conclusion
|f a bumper sticker I had seen was correct. It read, “God wanted
ns to ski, that’s why He gave them Colorado.”
le interesting aspect of the trip was the Coloradoans’ view of
•igners” overrunning their state. One man who has lived his
Be life in Colorado Springs summed up the general feeling to-
aiips Texans and other outsiders: “All the money is great but the
ople ... well, we could do without most of them. They sure raise a
t Of hell around here.”
Hit like the popular saying goes, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds
ou. And the hand that feeds many of Colorado’s ski resorts pays a
y penny to leave the warmth of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas,
ama and various other states to ski in Colorado. For example, ski
ickets were $12 a day at Crested Butte. When all the lifts are
lliing, 7,300 people an hour can be zipped up the mountain. That
s a lot of greenbacks being made just getting people up the
mountain.
SKI RENTAL IS MORE REASONABLE. Skis, boots and poles
are$8 a day and there is no charge if you break a pole (like I did) or
other equipment.
The people of Colorado, or at least of Crested Butte, provided a lot
of entertainment. It was interesting to watch and listen to the last of
theliippies who apparently hang out and work at ski resorts around
Colorado. Listening to them talk was like being back in the late 60s. I
kept waiting for them to talk about Woodstock or start protesting the
war in Vietnam.
ifoverheard two of these men talking at the ski lodge: “Like man,
sBust not happening in Boulder anymore. Boulder used to be
where it’s at but it’s just not there anymore.”
|ke man, I guess I don’t know where “it” is at either. “It” must not
be in Texas because I bet I would have found “it” if “it” was here. I
telllyou what, if I find “it” I’ll call those guys in Colorado so they can
get to “it.”
GETTING BACK TO THE 70s, I had to wonder what keeps
people coming back year after year to the Colorado ski slopes. It’s not
just the parents or college kids that return, but small kids, too. I
inQ Wouldn’t believe it. It looked like some sort of kindergarten had taken
a field trip skiing. The slopes were covered with kids who wore skis
longer than the kids were tall. And what really killed me was that
thev were all better skiers than me.
Ilcould just picture some of these kids’ parents taking them to get
their first skis even before they could walk. I talked with one eight-
year-old girl who told me, “We try to go skiing at least once a year.
1’mlsupposed to be in school right now but I got to ski instead.” Then
1 wjhtched her stay on the lift and go to the expert slopes while I
slipped and tumbled on to the beginners’ slopes,
p well, keep your ski tips up.
By DAVID BOGGAN
Battalion Sports Editor
Birdwatchers in San Juan Capis
trano, Calif., were worried Monday
morning. The swallows, tiny birds
that return to that town each March
19, were late. They finally arrived at
the old mission two hours behind
schedule, apparently delayed by a
rainstorm.
Fifteen-hundred miles east of San
Juan Capistrano, the return of the
Texas A&M baseball team to Olsen
Field is also in doubt because of the
weather. If rain does not prevent it,
the Aggies, who just flew in from
Florida, are scheduled to host
Arizona in a double-header begin
ning at 1 p.m. this afternoon.
While in Florida, the Aggies par
ticipated in the Hurricane In
vitational Tournament, playing 10
games in eight days. Playing in what
Aggie coach Tom Chandler calls a
“tournament of champions,” Texas
A&M compiled a 6-4 record in
Florida.
“I’m reasonably satisfied with our
Purdue,
Indiana
in finals
United Press International
NEW YORK — Indiana and Pur
due usually let their hostilities out
on the gridiron each year where
they compete for the Old Oaken
Bucket, but Wednesday night for
the first time in history they’ll
square off for one of college basket
ball’s most prestigious prizes — the
National Invitation Tournament
championship.
The state and Big Ten Conference
rivals reached the championship
round by disposing of Alabama and
Ohio State, respectively, in Monday
night’s semifinals at Madison Square
Garden.
Purdue, led by 7-foot-l Joe Barry
Carroll’s career-high 42 points,
crushed Alabama, 87-68, and In
diana staved off Ohio State, 64-55,
to set up a third meeting between
the two squads this year. The clubs
split their previous two games this
season.
Carroll was just too big and too
agile for Alabama. The Crimson
Tide stayed with a man-to-man de
fense throughout the game, but
their biggest player was only
6-feet-9 and Carroll acted like a
starved wolf going after a lamb
chop. The gangly junior hit on all
eight of his field goal attempts in the
first half and connected on 16 of 19
shots overall in the finest showing of
his collegiate career.
Alabama might have had a better
chance against Purdue if they’d em
ployed some of Indiana’s defensive
tactics. The Hoosiers were being
hurt by Ohio State’s Herb Williams
in the first half but enveloped the
6-10 center like an octopus in the
second half and held off the late-
charging Buckeyes.
Williams had nine points in the
first half but scored only five after
the intermission and did not score a
point in the second half until 13:40
had elapsed.
results,” Chandler said as he stood
in the dugout and watched the rain
soak his field Monday afternoon, his
53rd birthday. “It’s unfortunate that
we couldn’t score more runs. There
were several factors involved in
that. There was an all Astroturf field
and there was a wind. All the teams,
not just A&M, experienced diffi
culty in getting runs across.”
Aggie third baseman Mark War-
riner, who was voted all
tournament, said that Texas A&M
also experienced difficulty at the
plate.
“We didn’t hit the ball like we
can,” Warriner said. “Our team bat
ting average dropped because of
that. But I believe it (the tourna
ment) will do us good in the long
run.”
Chandler agreed that his team is
not hitting as good as it is capable of
doing.
“We left far too many men on
base,” the Aggie coach said. “But
our boys will hit; they’ve hit before.
“While we didn’t hit and weren’t
productive, our pitching really came
to the front. Our pitching through
out the tournament was good.”
Chandler was especially pleased
with the pitching of John Pockrus,
who he has named as the third
pitcher in Texas A&M’s rotation.
This announcement was fine with
Pockrus.
“I’ve always wanted to start,” said
the senior right-hander, who has
served the Aggies from the bull pen
before this season. “If that’s his de
cision, that’s great. I’m tickled to
death.”
Pockrus said that he feels a start
ing position will improve his game.
“When you’re starting, you know
what game you’re going to start in
and you know how to prepare,” he
explained. “When you relieve, you
could relieve every day. You never
know when you’re going to pitch.
“When I was relieving, I could
use one or two pitches — a fastball
and a slider. Since I’m starting, I
have to add a change up. This does
two things. It helps save my arm
and it gives batters something dif
ferent to look at.
“When I was a reliever, I knew
how to throw strikes. I think that
has carried over. A reliever has to
know how to throw strikes because a
lot of times when he comes in, the
bases will be loaded.”
The Aggies could face several
bases-loaded situations against
Arizona.
“They are hitting real well right
now,” Warriner said of the
Wildcats. “They’re a good, solid ball
club. ”
Chandler agreed that Arizona will
be a formidable opponent.
“I understand that they’re a fine
ball club,” he said. “They’re coming
off a weekend series with USC. And
they play in the toughest baseball
conference (Pac-10) in America.
They call it the 6-Pac and it’s tough.
There’s USC, Stanford, California,
Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA.”
The Aggies are scheduled to play
the Wildcats again Wednesday as
well as hosting Minnesota. Texas
A&M and Minnesota will play a
double-header Thursday.
While in Florida, Texas A&M de
feated Miami (Ohio) 8-2 and de
feated Florida International 15-3.
They then lost three straight to
Southern Illinois, 4-0; Oklahoma
State, 2-1 and Miami (Fla.), 3-1.
The Aggies defeated University of
Wisconsin (LaCrosse) 3-1 and de
feated Southern Illinois 4-3. They
lost again to defending Big Eight
champion Oklahoma State 2-1. Fi
nally, the Ags beat Bowling Green
4-0 and Miami (Fla.) 4-3.
ON SALE MSC 9 a.m.-2 p.m. 3/19-3/30
COMMONS 11 a.m.-l p.m.
4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
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m i
MSC
AGGIE CINEMA
THE GOLDIK AGS OF COMEDY
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-AUREL & HARDY—WILL ROGERS—JEAN HARLOW
CAROLE LOMBARD — BEN TURPIN — ANDY CLYDE
HARRY LANGDON — EDGAR KENNEDY
CHARI IE CHASE — and THE KEYSTONE KOPS
rated G
Tuesday
8 p.m.
March 20
Theater
Y- JUNE
Aggies
go to
Europe
for info:
rca
II MSC Travel 845-1515
What movies do YOU
want to see next Fall?
The MSC AGGIE CINEMA movie polls
are available at these locations:
• Memorial Student Center (next to staircase)
• Commons Lounge
• Zachry Lobby
• Academic Building
• Sbisa Cafeteria
Please come by and give us your input. Thank you.
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