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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 12, 1985)
Friday July 12, 1985/The Battalion/Page 7 PORTS cNelr UMi M C INAMA1L4 S by Jeff Millar & Bill Hinds we've got a 2*4-Hour-A-w \aJatc4-1 on) -rue cramge Bouae, AMP PiAlMCLOTMe& OFPlCeR^> At tWG AlPR^er BAGGAGE CCA/p\ AREA LOOKING RPR A FLIGHT UJlAlQA UMLCAP^ A LOT OF PUFFGL- BAGG>... Aggies’ Gilbert centers time around basketball it abanto freeze in coup ice f« billion u - and i i have | cuts ini ifires ce June! lilies w(| Id win HI icre fla# 'eek. nrefiehir 3,500-aoi: on fire | •uz Moii.' as 50 ircent i r temper- air help the upp ter believed :t fighta lea af ,el ;hter phi' Pact naval Staff * ed Sunda) rce Pact naval ials waters d of Cot- ess office' nesday Associate' ;h and tl" iwing re" 1 ' 5 pokesma" , MinisiO - r epercuS' cident^ own, fi u ' t Swede” if the aco- no reasop s crashes' >m reppd* saw- By PETE HERNDON Reporter Summer is the time of year ost Texas A&M students usually get to go home, relax and enjoy themselves. I But A&M basketball player Bimmie Gilbert doesn’t think he jean afford the luxury of a vaca- Basketball is Gilbert’s sum mer vacation. “Most of the guys that stay over ifjthe summer do it so they can |workout,” says Gilbert, a 6-foot-9 ggie center.“The facilities here at A&M) are better than most of us can get to at home, i “Besides, if I were to go home, I’d probably do nothing but [watch television and get fat.’’ I Gilbert isn’t worried about get ting out of shape because he spends long hours working on the weights and playing basket ball with some of his teammates. Gilbert says he wasn’t pleased with his performance on the ourt last year. “I don’t think I reached my po tential last season,” Gilbert says. had a lot higher expectations, [but I’d been hurt most of the [year.” However, Gilbert is healthy | now and Aggie guard Don Mar- |bury says Gilbert is playing ag- 1 gressive basketball this summer. “I’ve never seen Jimmie play I like he has this summer,” Mar- ibury says. “The other day, he was ■working in some hard, power Islanis (jumping) off of one leg. |Man, 1 was just standing there I thinking that if Jimmie plays like 1 this in the spring, we’ll win the ■ (Southwest) Conference.” I Three centers have been I draf ted from the SWC over the I last two years — SMU’s Jon Kon- Icak and Arkansas’ Joe Kleine in |’85; Houston’s Akeem Olajuwon in ’84. This coming spring, Gil- I bert should be the most experi- I enced center in the conference. A I fine season for Gilbert would not I only silence a lot of critics, it could learn him a shot at the NBA. “The biggest thing to getting a [ chance in the pros is that you’ve [ got to come from a winning (bas- | ketball) program,” Gilbert says. “The second biggest thing is | that you specialize in some aspect I of the game, whether it’s shoot- [ ing, rebounding, passing, block- ► ing shots or defense and be con- I sistent in everything else. “Right now, I’m working hard on my rebounding.” Gilbert has played against quite 1 a few rebounding experts during his three years at A&M. After playing in the shadows of Olajuwon, Kleine and Koncak for the last three seasons, Gilbert may have acquired enough experience to be the next dominant center in the SWC. Battalion File Photo Texas A&M center Jimmie Gilbert (right) hopes that having played against the likes of SMU’s Jon Koncak (left), who was drafted in the first round of the NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks, will help him become a more dominant player during his senior season. Gilbert says becoming a force in the SWC is just a matter of staying healthy and producing. And production is something the Aggies will need from the opening tipoff in the 1985-86 sea son. Coach Shelby Metcalf’s Ag gies start the season as guests of the Big Apple National Invitatio nal Tournament, the new pre season NIT. NCAA powerhouses Georgia Tech, Duke and Lamar are all in the Aggies’ bracket. Cowboy star tackles bass in off-season White using fishing as hobby, not holdout Associated Press DALLAS — Randy White may be All-Pro evidence that training camps are an unnecessary evil for profes sional football players. White en joyed one of his best years during his 10th season with the Dallas Cow boys, although he did not visit Thou- sand Oaks, Calif. But there’s no excuse for White to fish through the entire sum mer this year. There’s no salary dispute, no reason for a holdout. He’s got a new WHITE contract worth millions and, as the time nears to head for the Cal Lu theran training site, White wants to be ready. Bob Ward and some vistors from the East who help teach the Dallas defenders the martial arts — espe cially movement, leverage and hand- eye coordination — would’ve been pleased to have the view recently from a seat in White’s bass boat. From the nose of the craft, the big defensive lineman with a chest the size of a tennis court tests his skills against an opponent that is consid ered no slouch in the quickness-and- reflex department. On a recent outing, White cast spinnerbait several feet beyond an alligator’s head and rippled it back slowly near the surface. The gator waited patiently, its large eyes peris- coping over the water. When the lure came within striking distance, the reptile swung its head and clamped down with its jaws. “Missed again,” White laughed af ter jerking the lure from the gator’s jaws before it could hook itself. “One thing I don’t want to catch is' an alli gator.” For a man whose job restricts his fishing to less than one day a week for more than six months each year, White has come a long way in the 4 1 /2 years he has been a serious bass an gler. Being who he is has opened the gates to some of the best private fish ing holes in the country, of course, and that has been a factor in his fish ing education. It all started just under five years ago when White accompanied his coach, defensive coordinator Ernie Stautner, on a bass fishing trip. “I didn’t catch a fish,” White re called. “But I was throwing a buzz bait — a Lunker Lure I think it was — and the water was clear enough that I saw a little fish run at the lure and miss it. I think I was hooked from that minute on.” White is known at many roadside stops from Mount Pleasant to Pales tine, Brushy Creek to Edom, Caddo Creek to Koon Kreek, Catfish Creek to Brownsboro, Murchison to Poy- nor and Monticello to Athens. And he is respected as a guy that pays his dues. He has spent his share of chilly days and icy nights during the big- bass season on Monticello, at first learning from people like Bob Gar cia, Tommy Milam and Jerry Riney. Now, he mostly fishes alone, which may be the truest measure of his dedication. “I’m not a big-bass nut,” White said “but I enjoy the challenge of a lake with big bass, like Monticello. I like to catch fish, but I’m not that hung up on big fish.” White has made it as a football player and he is making it as a bass fisherman. Pro football and fishing have helped him emerge from the shell, the backwardness, he seemed to have as a rookie. Watching him wield a 7-foot, heavy-action flipping rod as if it were a toothpick is a sight to behold, but watching him be a good of boy around the gas pumps, short-order griddles and cracker barrels in those wide spaces in the road in East Texas is amazing. Even though White is a native of Delaware who attended Maryland and who owns a farm in Pennsylva nia, he is more Texan than many na tive sons. He talks the language and that includes some of the bull it takes to survive among fishermen. Astros’ Ryan notches 4,000 strikeouts ingers Associated Press HOUSTON — Nolan Ryan, baseball’s reigning strikeout king, became the first pitcher in major league history reach the 4,000 mark when he fanned New York’s Danny Heep in the sixth inning Thursday night. Ryan, 38, went into Thursday night’s game against the Mets needing seven strikeouts to become the first major league pitcher to reach the 4,000 mark. The 19-year veteran got the milestone strikeout when Heep, the lead- off hitter in the sixth, swung at an 0-2 curve ball in the dirt. The crowd at the Astrodome, which included Commissioner of Baseball Peter Ueberroth, gave Ryan a two-minute standing ovation as catcher Mark Bailey trotted to the mound to shake the pitcher’s hand. Ryan’s Astro team mates on the field and in the dugout also applauded. Ryan lipped his cap several times while standing atop the pitching rub ber, finally stopping the ovation when he threw a pitch to the next batter, Rafael Santana. But the crowd was up again when Ryan struck out Santana and pitcher Sid Fernandez to end the sixth and run his total 4,002. Ryan started his run to 4,000 by fanning Len Dykstra to open the game, got Santana and Fernandez in the second, Fernandez again in the fourth, and Darryl Strawberry and Gary Carter in the fifth. “This is an unbelievable milestone for him,” Ueberroth said. Ryan started the game with 3,993 strikeouts and an 85-strikeout lead over his nearest rival, Philadelphia’s Steve Carlton, who currently is on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. Ryan had 119 strikeouts this season in 19 starts. And in his last start on Saturday, he struck out three in a losing effort to the Montreal Expos in the Astrodome. Montreal’s Brad Mills became Ryan’s 3,509th career strikeout April 27, 1983, in a race with Carlton to become the first to break the career strikeout record of Walter Johnson that had stood for 55 years. Ryan went for the 4,000-strikeout plateau against his former Mets team mates. It was as a Met that Ryan recorded his first major league strikeout Sept. 11, 1966, fanning Atlanta’s Pat Jarvis. 99C Margaritas Margaritas that aren't made with Tequila Sauza products are no bargain. Ours are. really fine eats Daily from 4-7 p.m. Texas Coin Exchange Bond Special ends Monday July 15 Check today's ad for details Texas Coin Exchange s ^ Graham Central Station s at S N C&W Dance Classes s 1: N S N N S N <±1 ★ Beginner starts July 17 (Wed.) ★ Advanced Swing starts July 18 (Thur.) ★ Jitterbug starts July 21 (Sun.) All classes are $ 12 per person Call John Benson to register 693-1663 Sponsored by ENVE Book Exchange July 10,11,12,15,16 214 Pavilion Bring in your used books, and buy your books for next session! Sponsored by Student Government, Student Services Division We’re celebrating National Ice CreamWeek. :3PCONES] ON SUNDAY, JULY 14 We’re kicking off National Ice Cream Week with a big one day only celebration. At 31*, our 2-1/2 oz. cone will taste better than ever. So pledge your allegiance to the real tastes of Baskin-Robbins on Sunday, July 14. BASKIN ICE CREAM STORE College Station Parkway Square Shopping Center Bryan • 2500 Texas Ave. ROBBINS