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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1984)
Page 14/The Battalion/Wednesday, February 1, 1984 TANK MCNAMARA by Jeff Millar & Bill Hinds Reagan is only Westerner known better than Gretzky By MILTON RICHMAN United Press International TAB/ b <jy pizza <3^ — ^ a * $1 off Two Item Chanello’s Pizza OrJ More ONE COUPON PER PIZZA EX-1 PIPES 2/29/84 I 1- -I $2 Any 20” Two Item Chanello’s Pizza or more ONE COUPON PER PIZZA expires 2/29/84 PARTY TIME SPECIAL RECEIVE A % DISCOUNT ON ANY PARTY SIZE ORDER AS FOLLOWS 10-15, 16” PIZZAS - A 10% DISCOUNT 15-20, 16” PIZZAS - A 15% DISCOUNT 20 or more, 16” PIZZAS - A 20% DISCOUNT CHANELLO’S PIZZA NOT VALID DURING ANY OTHER SPECIAL OFFER EXPIRES 2/29/84 30 MINUTE DELIVERY GUARANTEE I $1 OFF ANY PIZZA DELIVERED I MORE THAN 30 MINUTES 1 FROM THE TIME YOU * ORDER EXPIRES 2/29/84 I SUPREME DREAM 20" SUPREME PIZZA PLUS 2 COKES $13.50 EXPIRES 2/29/84 <s- x <s* NEW YORK — It shouldn’t come as any great shock to anyone that the most recognizable “out-sider” among people inside the Soviet Union is Ronald Reagan. Now who do you think is second? Would you believe it’s Wayne Gretzky? That’s the information I get. For the most part, my sources are recent emigres here from Moscow, Odessa and Riga. They tell me that hardly anyone in those places has ever heard of fellows like George Shultz, Malcolm Baldridge or Tip O’Neill, but practically everyone there has heard of Wayne Gretzky. I’m not surprised. What makes you think the man in the street in the USSR is that much different than his counterpart in the USA? It’s a lot easier to get more worked up over sports than internation al politics. More enjoyable also. The Russians love hockey. They appreciate outstanding perfor mers, too. So why wouldn’t they get excited about someone like Gretzky even if he is from Brantford, Ont., and plays for the Edmonton Oilers? Barely 23, Gretzky already is acknowledged by many as the greatest hockey player of all time. I can’t argue with that, and I think I saw some of the best ever when I watched such players as Eddie Shore, Maurice “Rocket” Richard, Jean Beliveau, Bill Cow ley, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Doug Harvey and Bobby Orr. Until Gretzky came along, I thought Orr was the best player, or certainly the most accomplished one I had ever seen on the ice. But Orr says he wasn’t anywhere near the player Gretzky is, and I don’t think the former Boston Bruins’ defenseman is merely saying that to be modest even though he’s normally inclined that way. To me, Gretzky is the most overwhelming force in team sports since Babe Ruth. I can’t honestly think of anyone else who com pares with him. It was only last Saturday that the Los Angeles Kings snapped his scoring string at 51 consecutive games. TWISTIE Free Fossil Beads of Your Choice, With Every $50 Purchase of Twisties. DOUGLAS JEWELRY 1623 Texas Ave. 212 N. Main ' -^Culpepper Plaza Downtown BryajV 693-0677 822-3119 Celebrate Ground Hog’s Day!! Now Serving... Join us at our Espresso Bar! ...Imported foods, candy, coffee, tea, and gifts. Daily - 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Mon-Sat. College Station Location Only! (Next to Fuddrucker’s) Bring this ad in for a “tofer“ PRIQRITEAS ■ BLENDS OF SIFT-GIVING ■HHBBBHi 2214 South Texas. C.S. 3609 Place E. 29th Bryan BFUSEimiEimT PIRESEFIYS 4r FEB 2 DEWARE S3 °A N 8 ^ :iC- • ■. - j :' — - pm Think of that for a second. Going all the way back to thests the NHL season, back to October, the Oilers’ sylph-likecentei gotten at least a goal or an assist in every game before hewaji out on Saturday. At that, his streak might still be alive had teammate Gharlie Huddy missed putting the puckinanoper after being set up by Gretzky. Gretzky is almost too good to be true. For the past four years, he has won the Hart TrophyasV and for the past three years, the Ross Trophy as the leagues scorer. With the runaway scoring lead he has right now, hefe like a lock to win both trophies again this season. He even played in last night’s All-Star contest at the Meat lands Arena in New Jersey despite a painful shoulder injunitu' aggravated at least three times during the game. Gretzky keeps a low profile about his income, but taking) account the $1 million a year he earns with the Oilers and; additional $2.5 million he gets from outside endorsementsant ly, it’s hard to think of anyone in sports who makes as muchasls No one deserves it more, either. Generally, seeing is believing even after you see Gretzky do the things he does, it’s hard tores you actually saw what you did. That’s how electrifying he is It is not outlandish to equate Gretzky with Babe Ruth,® since there already is a distinct parallel between them despite' fact two different sports are involved. When Ruth First came up to the big leagues in 1914, he*) pitcher with the Boston Red Sox. He won 23 games one seasons j 24 the next. He showed he also could hit home runs. TheRedS were owned by Harry Frazee, a theatrical producer, whobecaffi, financially strapped that as reluctant as he was to do so, he forced to sell Ruth to the Yankees in 1919 for $125,000ars $350,000 mortgage on Fenway Park. One Boston taxi driver *ii! infuriated over Frazee selling Ruth away, he hauled off and hr Red Sox owner, knocking him ears over tea kettle. Peter Pocklington has said he’d never trade or sell Greub long as he owned the Oilers. But what if he’s forced to sell thedi Or what if his creditors demand to be paid? What then? Podh ton might have no other choice but to sell his prime asset Ruth was sold, wasn’t he? And under very similar circumstaie too In such cities as Los Angeles, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Chia; Washington and East Rutherford, N.J., which do not ordinaril' out on a regular basis, Gretzky’s arrival with the Oilers guarantee capacity house. With a team like the New Jersey Devils, that me; a difference of somewhere between $150,000 and $1601" whenever Gretzky comes to town. Imagine what it would mean to him in terms of how mm money he’d make if he ever came with one of the teams in Net York? Don’t think it could never happen. Nobody ever believed! Red Sox would ever sell Babe Ruth, either. Next episode Dt been Sclio westi R tuitk Tex; appl Bo St ploy abot Pi rout fon self- Ban $1,( seni Fall rea cho sho tior tior lr Va Hot of SWC soaps By BILL ROBINSON Assistant sports editor Two Southwest Conference basketball teams welcomed play ers back to the practice floor Tuesday as two others prepare for a third-place showdown scheduled for tonight. In the latest episode of the Houston soap opera, 6-8 for ward Braxton Clark returned to practice as did Arkansas’ Kenny Hutchinson. Clark left the No. 5 Cougars in December with Benny Anders, who rejoined the team last week. Both players left dur ing a tournament in Hawaii, accusing Coach Guy Lewis of mistreating them. As for the showdown,?! and Texas Tech squirtr tonight for sole possessionofs No. 3 spot in SWC standi:: Both teams are 5-2 in coair ence action. Elsewhere around theconfr ence, Texas looks for only second SWC win in 21 oul Fel bo< Th nai inf when it hosts TCU. Both tea are 1-6 this season. In the other game tonip last-place Baylor will host asm!" ing Rice team. The Owlsare® and are corning off an upsetn lory over Arkansas Fridn Baylor has yet to win a conic ence game this season. Urn Hutchinson, one of the most highly recruited high school f »roducts last year, attended his irst practice with the No. 18 Razorbacks. He will have to sit out the remainder of the season to preserve his four years of eli gibility. He had been ineligible because he failed a New York graduation test despite having high enough grades to be accepted by Arkansas. Thursday night, leagut leading Houston will hostToj A&M in a televised contest.!: drive: Aggies Finished the first hall checkc SWC action with a 4-4 recott Englis The Cougars are 7-0, bul It histor-’ ven’t played Arkansas yet. jors. Ill As for the Razorbacks, thef team gets the week off to recow ^ from the dual setbacks to te ton ^ and Villanova last weekend to ’ Arkansas returns to adiK ral ” Saturday when it h oslsl ^ we [ W) Bears ' duate Rockets defeat Kings agree subjec histoi United Press International KANSAS CITY, Mo. (UPI) — Rookie Ralph Sampson scored 33 points and grabbed 12 rebounds Tuesday night to give the Houston Rockets a 122-107 victory over the Kansas City Kings. Sampson, who fell just two points shy of his career high, paced six Rockets in double fi gures as Houston won for the fifth time in its last six games. Robert Reid added 18, Caldwell Jones and Allen Leavell 16 apiece, Phil Ford 14 and Elvin Hayes 13 as the Rockets won on the road for only the fifth time in 21 tries. Hayes and Leavell came off the bench in the second quaitt: live n and combined for 17 points: tor y, help stake Houston at a 58-f an s c intermission lead. Kansas Cit devel led 38-37 midway through tk cess ii period but Hayes scored sew P°rt i and Leavell six to sparka2Mll Tf Rocket run. sorei Ford sank a 3-point basket Ame Houston outscored the Kings! 2 over the first three minutes' the third period to open a67-jl ^ lead and trigger the rout-tin P* ac e worst home defeat of theseaso: h for the Kings. n ^ ss ’ Mike Woodson scoredJif c " air points, LaSalle Thompson | Eddie Johnson 20 and Lam •r« k Drew 18 for Kansas City, whkt * ] lost for the 13th time in its last f games. ■M S C AfiGlE QNEMA^ presents DUSTIN HOFFMAN Kramer 10^, er Wednesday 7:30 p.m. Rudder Theatre $1.50 with TAMU I.D.