The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, August 16, 1979, Image 8

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    Battalion photo by Bill Shearin
Will she make it?
Corine Sasser hustles down the first base line in the intramural
Women’s class A slow pitch softball finals Wednesday. Sasser’s
team, the Lucky Strikes, beat NAPA 17-2 to win the cham
pionship.
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United Press International
HOUSTON — Kermit Washing
ton Tuesday said he punched Rudy
Tomjanovich during a 1977 Los
Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets
basketball game in a reflexive, de
fensive action and had no intention
of seriously hurting anyone.
Under cross-examination, Wash
ington admitted he had grabbed
Kunnert around the waist before
Kunnert struck him, but said he
swung at Tomjanovich only because
he saw a shadow coming and be
lieved someone was attacking him.
Tomjanovich testified he was
rushing to the scene of the fight to
help break it up.
Because the suit holds the Lakers
responsible and seeks no damages
from Washington, Tomjanovich’s
lawyer Nick Nichols devoted a lot of
time to evidence the Lakers never
formally discouraged fighting or
admonished Washington.
“I saw a blur coming at me from
the right side,” said Washington,
who by this time had punched Kun
nert twice. “I turned and swung not
knowing who it was or what their
intention was. That was Rudy and
Rudy went down.
“I didn’t mean to hurt him. I
didn’t mean to hurt him badly. I
didn’t mean to hurt him at all.”
Washington, ejected from the
game, passed Tomjanovich on his
way to the locker room. Tom
janovich was on his way to a hospital
for treatment of a cracked skull,
broken jaw and nose and other in
juries that ended his 1977-78 sea-
“Rudy yelled at me, ‘Why’d you
take that cheap shot?’ I turned
around and said ‘What are you talk
ing about? Talk to your friend Kevin
Kunnert, he’s the one who started
the whole thing.’
“My friends were holding me. I
told them they didn’t have to. I
wasn’t going to hit him again.”
Washington said he had been in
volved in a number of scuffles in his
career, but he denied he had a ten-
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dency to be violent. Under ques
tioning from Nichols, he said the
Lakers never formally instructed
players to avoid fights.
“It was understood. Certain
things don’t have to be said,” Wash
ington responded, avoiding Nichols’
efforts to needle him into a show of
temper with side comments like, “I
understand you’re fast with your
fists.”
“It (fighting) is not a part of bas
ketball,” Washington said. “It’s not
even a part of living in our society.
But it happens. In my mind, you
have to defend yourself, not only in
basketball but on the street.”
However, Washington, whom
NBA Commissioner Lawrence O’B
rien fined $10,000 and suspended
for 60 days, during which he lost
$47,000 in salary, said he would
react differently to the same circum
stances if they happened today.
“I think I would have a different
reaction because I’ve been through
this experience,” Washington said.
“Now, I think I could take a few
blows and still be respected in this
league.”
Since Washington is not a defen
dant, U.S. District Judge John V.
Singleton excluded as “irrelevant” a
Sports Illustrated article that listed
Washington as “an enforcer.”
“What a Sports Illustrated writer
wants to write and label people I
don’t think is relevant,” Singleton
said.
Lakers’ lawyer Robert Dunn de
voted some time to depicting Wash
ington, whom former Lakers Coach
Jerry West described as a respecta
ble, “first class” person, as a good
father and a psychology graduate
student.
Washington, with Tomjanovich
watching from a courtroom bench,
delivered his testimony in firm but
softspoken tones, occasionally smil
ed and looked often at the jury.
Former Lakers general manager
Pete Newell, who drafted Washing
ton and Tomjanovich and teaches
Washington and three other pro
players free of charge, backed
Washington up: “I don’t think he
would initiate violent conduct.”
Newell said he thought Tom-
Fresh start for some fresh-men
It’s literally a new ball game for these Aggie
freshmen football players as they go through
four days of drills before the veterans show
up for two-a-day workouts. A new NCAA
rule allows schools to bring freshmen players
in a few days early for an orientation period
so they can adjust to the school, the program,
the coaches and hopefully, be ready for the
upperclassmen and college football.
Battalion photo by Mary Jo Prince
janovich made a mistake rushing
toward Washington.
“I know Rudy. I don’t think he
came in with any malice. I think he
made a mistake by not coming in in
more of a circle (behind the fight),”
Newell said.
Newell, who led college teams to
National Invitation Tournament and
NCAA championships and the 1960
U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal
at Rome, has been a consultant to
NBA teams since 1961.
He said he thought the Rockets,
10-13 at the time of Tomjanovich’s
injury would have fallen short of the
playoffs in 1977-78 even if Tom
janovich had not been hurt because
starters Moses Malone and Mike
Newlin were injured later.
“Both Newlin and Malone are
first-line players and I think it would
definitely have been difficult with
those two players missing,” Newell
said.
He said he had seen Tomjanovich
play three times since the injury
and, “I was really pleased to see him
play as well as he did. Rudy looked
just fine, shooting well as he always
did.”
But Newell conceded under
cross-examination that a longer
study would be required to deter
mine how much the injury had hurt
Tomjanovich’s career.
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Kroc has winning
burgers, poor Padm
By MILTON RICHMAN
UPI Sports Editor
NEW YORK — For six years,
Ray Kroc, has had his own big
league ball club, and what’s burning
him up is the only thing he has to
show for it now is some hamburger
meat.
That hurts.
When Kroc shelled out $8.5 mil
lion for the San Diego Padres in
January of 1974, he didn’t expect
them to become the same spectacu
lar success as his enormously profit
able international chain of McDon
ald restaurants. But he hoped at
least they would be contenders by
this_time.
They’re not and don’t look like
they will be in the very near future
and that’s what has the outspoken,
impatient Kroc so fired up.
Kroc says he’s going to give his
Padres one more year during which
he’s planning to pour $5 million, $10
million, or whatever it takes, into
them, and then if they still don’t
move up, well, maybe, he’s going to
selhthem to someone else who has
always dreamed of owning his own
big league club.
A man can do what he likes with
his property. But I think maybe
Kroc got a little carried away when
he said he might fire all his scouts
because “it’s obvious the guys we’ve
got don’t know horseflesh.”
My understanding is that Bob
Fontaine, the Padres’ vice president
and general manager, had a long
talk with Ray Kroc after he made his
remarks about the club’s scouts
Monday and Kroc has a better
understanding of the whole situa
tion now. He should have because
scouts generally are the most unap
preciated, underpaid people in
baseball.
One way or another, the Padres’
scouts were responsible for the club
originally signing such players as
Dave Winfield, Mike Ivie, Randy
Jones and Johnny Grubb. And what
about Ozzie Smith, runnerup as Na
tional League Rookie of the Year last
season. Gene Richards, Jerry
Turner, Bob Shirley and Bob Ow-
chinko? They aren’t exactly bums.
Kroc certainly has a right to ex
pect better results. He should keep
r
in mind, though, that almost a!! j
money budgeted for scoutingdois
previous owner C. Arnholt Smil
ownership usually went topayil
club’s No. 1 draft choice. :
Th ings were a mess prior
Kroc’s purchase of the dub. 11
Padres, for example, had to a
lefthander Freddie Norman to Q
cinnati to get the money to pi
Winfield when they signed him
days out of college in 1973.
One of the things I could w
understand is why the scouts mi
formed their own union the way
ballplayers and umpires did. Proi
bly because they’ve never coniei
with anyone to lead them.
If a scout is making $25,00:
$30,000 today, he’s in the up;
strata of his profession. There
some excellent ones around
most of them are worth every
they get and then some.
Frank Lane used to be in a
of scouts when he was general
ager with such clubs as the
Sox, Cardinals, Indians, A’s
Brewers. Now he’s a scout
with the Angels and can
enough about them as a group
“When I ran ball clubs, lire
scouts as if they were rare gem
cause I knew how important in
were to the operation of any u
club,” Lane says.
Ray Kroc feels the scouts be:
don t know ballplayers, and or-
the reasons he thinks so is beta
the Padres are down in fourth[k
in their division with little chan::
equaling their 84-78 logoflast
son.
Naturally, Kroc feels he to
ballplayers. As a Cubs’ fan livin!
Chicago, he followed such play
Hack Wilson, Gabby Hartnett
gers Hornsby, Stan Hack.
Cavaretta and Andy Pafke, andtl
ing to one of the Padres’ young®
fielders some time back, the Pa*
owner said to him:
“You got to dive after the l ||
like Hack Wilson.” IL J
“Who?” the player wantedi
know.
“Hack Wilson,” Kroc repeats
“Who’s Hack Wilson?”
the player, putting a stop to
conversation right there.
Spor
on th
fresh
in ex
by t
alonj
Fish
:. .
UK
Yanks slip by Rangers, 44
AF
Orion
tin —
ear spi
Coast G
stret
Bted i
btur
United Press International
NEW YORK — Bobby Murcer
singled, doubled and drove in one
run Wednesday night to help carry
the New York Yankees to a 4-3
triumph over the Texas Rangers.
Jerry Don Gleaton, 0-1, allowed
successive doubles to Murcer, Lou
Piniella and Reggie Jackson in the
first inning to give the Yankees a 2-0
lead. Jackson was 4-for-4 on the
night. Texas tied the score in the
second when Al Oliver and John
Ellis singled and Bill Sample walked
to load the bases before Jim
Sundberg’s two-run single.
re s<
I® his 1
ttark
(Mark
The Yankees countered w
run in the second when Buck)
walked and Willie Randolph nsjl
before Murcer delivere
game-winning hit with a sindf d fror
center. Dent’s sacrifice fly is I marine
fourth accounted for New Yt#£6 a.r
final run. Texas scored in the
on an RBI groundout by I
Wills.
Tommy John, 16-6, went i
plus innings before being rel
in the ninth by Rich Gossace
picked up his eighth save. Job!
up 10 hits, struck out fin
walked three.
h
»
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