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The Battalion Sports
September 8, 1982 Page 13
Ditka set for ’82,
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[Its tdt United Press International
u ff cr . CHICAGO — Chicago Bears
n0[tl okii Coach Mike Ditka caught
t},^ me of his veteran players by
IU , rplise during last spring’s
1(e ’ ini|:amp when he gathered
H i,je team for its first meeting.
n ^ Ditka, who had replaced Neill
condJTMirong after Chicago
lished 6-10 last year, started
Iking about his team’s chances
( making it to the Super Bowl
ij season.
. X “It wasn’t that we had a nega-
»j.‘ e feeling before but it was sur
ging,” veteran safety Gary
ncik said. “He was talking ab-
it getting us to the Super Bowl
d that’s the kind of talk I ha-
1 (!; " n’t heard around here.”
t0 Whether the Bears have the
” epower to duplicate the San
1 ancisco 49ers’ rise from the
icnu p t j ls to nfl champion
ship remains questionable. The
ent and the question marks
* - main virtually the same from
' 0 5“M>' ear t ^ ie d^fense-
nadvt iented Bears seeking to gener-
rmatEi more offensive explosions
im their passing game than
i cod-^ from the running of peren-
ie calil All-Pro Walter Payton.
But under Ditka, the Chicago
odf rcjlosophy has been changed
gto^ jm a mild cub under Arm-
;$dol ong to an angry bear,
r. Ai' “ifan promise that no one in
fied is league is going to work har-
r than we do,” said Ditka,
in aur red away from the Dallas Cow-
takcri y I organization by owner
d. :orge Halas. “I think I learned
her me things about winning
have ider Tom Landry at Dallas
: their d I learned about hard work.
e’ll have our own identity here
K. li >t we are going to use some of
lowvhe things that made the Cow-
Buis ys’winners.”
d h However, about the only
ing the Bears have that Dallas
has is a potentially strong de-
by defensiv
fense led by defensive coordina
tor Buddy Ryan. Despite
finishing last in the NFC Central
Division last year, the Bears
were still first in the league in
defensive passing percentage
and gave up only five touch
downs in the last four games last
year.
As has been the case in recent
years, the major question con
cerning the success of the Bears
lies at quarterback, where veter
an Vince Evans has been dueling
the team’s No. 1 draft choice,
Jim McMahon, for the starting
spot. Evans was among the worst
in the NFL in passing efficiency
last year while McMahon was re
writing the NCAA record book
at Brigham Young.
“Right now, Vince is my No. 1
quarterback and will be there as
the No. 1 man when the season
begins unless someone shows
that he is head and shoulders
better than Vince,” said Ditka.
Evans isn’t lacking in confi
dence regarding his ability to
hold off McMahon’s challenge.
“I think Jim McMahon will be
a valuable attribute to this team,
as long as he is playing behind
me,” Evans said.
McMahon said: “I think I can
provide consistency to the Bears
offense. I’m not knocking any of
the other quarterbacks but I’m
confident I can fit into the
system.”
Regardless of who survives
the battle, Chicago’s offense is
again likely to revolve around
Payton. The star running back
was hit harder and showed more
bruises last year than at any time
in his career.
“Yes, I was hurt more than
any time in my life. I’m optimis
tic things will improve this year,”
said Payton, who enters the sea
son with 9,608 career yards,
fourth on the all-time list. “I
don’t know whether we’ll make
the playoffs but we will be
better.”
Both the offensive and defen
sive lines have question marks
that Ditka says he is confident
can be erased by the time the
season opens Sunday in Detroit.
The survivor in the quarterback
derby will have more receiving
help than last year. James Scott,
who fled to the Canadian Foot
ball League for one season, is
back to give Chicago a deep
threat again.
Brian Baschnagel, Rickey
Watts and Ken Margerum will
fight for the other spot. Watts
did not enhance his standing
with the discipline-oriented Dit
ka when he walked out of the
mini-camp last spring.
Chicago still has a tight end
problem. The team’s No. 3-
round draft choice, Tim
Wrightman of UCLA, refused
the club’s contract offer in July
and became the first player to
sign with the new USFL rival
Chicago Blitz.
The Bears, by virtue of
finishing last in 1981, do have an
easier schedule than in recent
years, with only one playoff
team on the slate. However, Dit
ka refused to speculate about
what tiqje of record he will have
in his first season.
“I can’t say.” said Ditka, not
ing that the club was 2-6 against
the NFC Central Division while
going 4-0 against the tough AFC
West. “I don’t want to get into
that. We’ll work and be ready.
We’ve got to do a better job
against our own division. We’re
just pointing to that opener with
the Lions. We’ll see what hap
pens after that game.”
Kyle Field traffic jam
staff photo by Peter Rocha
Caught in the middle of three members of the Bos
ton College defensive unit, Aggie tailback Johnny
Hector attempts to manuever toward open ground in
the Aggies’ 38-16 loss to the Eagles Saturday. The
Boston College defenders include strong safety David
Pereira (41), weak safety Vic Crawford (5) and tackle
Rob Swanke. Texas A&M offensive lineman Tommy
Robison watches the action from behind the scenes.
Tennis squads top tourney
by Joe Tindel Jr
Battalion Staff
The Texas A&M tennis teams
opened fall play with impressive
victories in Beaumont’s Labor
Day tournament, held Saturday
through Monday.
In men’s doubles action,
senior Ron Kowal and junior
Van Barry gave the Aggies a
championship by defeating the
Rice duo of Mark Mill and Tres
Cushing, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4. In sing
les, sophomore Greg Hill adv
anced to the finals with a 4-6,
6-4, 6-4 victory over Lamar’s
Jose Arova.
The Aggie Ladies, led by
standout Liliana Fernandez,
seized championships in both
singles and doubles, with Fer
nandez topping Lynn Davis of
Dallas, 2-6,6-3,6-0, for the sum
mit in singles. Fernandez and
senior Teresa Landry teamed
up to defeat another Aggie team
of Amy Gloss and Cheryl Stan
ford, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5, for the dou
bles championship.
Coach David Kent said he was
pleased by both the men’s and
the women’s performances, and
that continued improvement
could result in Texas A&M
being a formidable foe for any
competitor.
“We just played really good
tennis, and I think it’s going to
give us confidence down the
road,” Kent said. “I was
pleasantly surprised with our
outstanding play.”
He said he was impressed
with the singles play of Greg Hill
and newcomer Arnold Kette-
nacker, who was redshirted last
year. Kent cited the play of Fer
nandez, while women’s coach
Jan Cannon said Fernandez
could be the first all-America
tennis player she’s had.
“Liliana was the class of the
tournament,” Kent said.
Kent also said Vanne Akagi,
the Aggie Ladies’ freshman
from Hawaii, performed well in
her first collegiate match.
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“THE LAND GRANT COLLEGE COMPLEX IS A FAIL
URE. NOWHERE IS THAT FAILURE MORE STRIK
ING THAN IN THE RESEARCH COMPONENT.”
— Jim Hightower, Hard Tomatoes, Hard Times, 1975
Come Meet Jim Hightower’s Opponent
CLASS OF ’59
DR. FRED THORNBERRY
FOR
• TEXAS’ COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE
THURSDAY, SEPT. 9
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Press Conference/Rally
1:00 p.m.
Memorial Students Center Rm. 145
Texas A&M University
Reception
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Ramada Inn (near Campus)
Ballroom B
“My opponent has attacked A&M and to an old
Aggie that means trouble. Gig ’em”
— Fred Thornberry
FRED THORNBERRY. LEADERSHIP FROM THE GROUND UP.
★ SENIORS! ★
Attend the First
Class of ’83
Meeting
September 9 Room #308
7:30-8:30 Rudder Tower
Guest speaker from the Placement Center
jA.
•MSC TOWN HALL-
SPYRO-
GYRA
An Encounter with
Today’s Finest
JAZZ GROOP
in
Rudder Auditorium
September 24 at 8 p.m.
MSC Box Office
845-1234
Sept. 6-10
Sept. 13
Tickets: $ 6 50
$ 7 50 _ $ Q 00
Option Passes
General Admission