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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1986)
Wednesday, October 22, 1986/The Battalion/Page 9 IXNtt MCNAMARA by Jell Millar & Bill Hinds I ... IP YOOf? COU^tiTUG.KiTS> CAlSi KGtP -r^Ae iWCOW\G.TAY PC-POCTiOM £OK 5009T&R CLUB POK^TlOMS^ ? p'C? ajoyokjp eyeR-rcuL.'itxj TUM -PSXAK^ lAAVg. A <=>T(3A0G£ OP PRIORITY ? AMVOKiP YEU.YOU TiAAT I'M CtTAMP'VJG p<DR Re-et&CTiOK) ? V ’ * Former A&M player Cannon sues Dallas for back injury Kevin Mum, ■ in Murrav'st; 'd Heisman- 10 yards for ^ i in the van:; e against a so e performai Associated Prs er of the W«1 Miami, &M reaches: Iraws the Alia an opponet satchup? BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)—Dal las Cowboys President Tex Schramm said he isn’t surprised that former linebacker Billy Cannon Jr. issuing the team for a back injury he got halfway into his rookie season. H “It’s the typical plaintiff lawsuit that is causing all our insurance rates to soar,” Schramm told the Dallas Morning News. “It comes out of no where, as far as I’m concerned. It the ks | does n’t surprise me; it’s typical of our times. i Cannon, who played collegiate football at Texas A&M, Filed the .6 million suit in U.S. District urt here Monday, claiming that he Cotton fe,I the career-ending back injury he Rlffered was the result of negligence mnv Testavt-lly the National Football League sici. ■am. B Cannon's attorney claims the suit am* is the first of its kind in the nation and could change player-safety iftiles. ■ “There’s going to be a lot of in triguing legal questions that have to be hurdled,” Ross Brupbacher of . Lafayette, La., said. “It could set evelopa: standards on duty and care mg the x , concerning the health of players.” liking; .hough he I ;rior to Rict :::| the Owboiij t attitude, talk a kw The lawyer acknowledged foot- 11 is a dangerous sport, but he said ore should be done to protect play ers “Everyone that plays knows it’s a . > dangerous game, but there are sig- st to plav rr.Bficant numbers of players who are v to win.” 1 Billy Cannon Jr. During A&M playing days playing with risk of injury they need to be made aware of,” he said. The suit says Cannon was signed in May 1984 to a series of six one- year contracts worth $1.9 million, excluding performance bonuses. Cannon aggravated a spinal con dition known as spinal stenosis when he tackled New Orleans Saints run ning back Wayne Wilson during a game on Oct. 28, 1984, the suit al leges. After doctors told Cannon that if he continued to play football, he ris ked permanent paralysis, Cannon retired from football and returned to Baton Rouge. Cannon claims in the suit that he complained to the Cowboys before the Saints game of numbness in his upper body and upper extremities after making tackles. Dr. Pat Evans, a member of the team’s medical staff, said he did not recall Cannon having any com plaints at all before the injury. He wouldn’t comment on the suit. The suit also claims the Cowboys failed to diagnose the risk that Can non was taking, failed to coach him properly in tackling methods that would have minimized his risk of in jury, and failed to provide equip ment that would have reduced the injury risk. The lawyer said Cannon under went several physical exams by the Cowboys and the NFL, so the spinal condition should have been discov ered. Cannon was later diagnosed as having a spinal column that is too narrow and pinches his vertebrae. Cannon was not aware of the condi tion before his injury, the lawyer said. Cannon, the Cowboys’ No. I draft pick in 1984, is the son of Billy Can non Sr., who won the Heisman Tro phy while playing football at Loui-si- ana State University. Cannon Sr., who played profes sionally for the Houston Oilers and the then-Oakland Raiders, is back in Baton Rouge after serving a federal prison term for counterfeiting. . . Sbeni de Marshal relay due Listed asd reserve mi and Ira'al :s andM ion, who ha ed elbow. tiob)' 1 NBA votes to expand league size I PHOENIX, Ariz. (AP) — The NBA’s Board of Governors voted Tuesday to expand by one to three teams, but not before two years from now at the earliest and possibly not until the 1990-91 sea son. NBA Commissioner David Stern announced at a news con ference that a Five-member ex pansion committee would be formed and would decide on the sites and timetable for expansion, which will be announced next April in New York. | The new teams would be added between the 1988-89 and 1990-91 seasons. ! The 23-member pro basketball league last added a new team in 1980, when Dallas was granted a franchise. I “The NBA has reached a point in strength where the next logical step for us is to expand. The vote was unanimous, 23-0,” Stern said. ‘The collective force of the pre sentations given by six cities here this week put away any doubts that we should not be moving ag- | gressively forward.” i Representatives from six appli cants — Toronto, Minneapolis, Miami, Fla., Orlando, Fla., Orange County, Calif., and Char lotte, N.C. — all delivered 30- minute presentations to the board Monday. Miami, Orlando and Minneap olis reportedly are the front-run ners in the race to land a fran chise. 5 tiest0 g k-M f ronl 1 ' Flutie signs contract with Chicago Bears LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Doug Flutie, “anxious to get into the Na tional Football League and onto the playing Field,” signed a contract with the Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears on Tuesday. The 1984 Heisman Trophy win ner from Boston College signed 1987 and 1988 contracts as well as one for the current season which would make him eligible to be placed on the active roster Nov. 4. “Practice starts at 1:30 tomorrow,” said Bears Coach Mike Ditka, who was instrumental in bringing the 5- foot-9 quarterback to the Bears. “It will take a couple of weeks be fore I get the grasp of things and be come comfortable with the offense,” Flutie said. “I’m going to prepare as quickly as possible to become com petitive.” Flutie was signed after Ditka termed the Bears’ quarterback situa tion unstable because of injuries which have sidelined McMahon for three games this season. Flutie hasn’t played football since the spring of 1985, but said, “I don’t feel rusty now. Maybe my body will feel it in a week or two. We’ll see what happens.” Flutie was brought into the Bear camp on a day when the rest of the team was off. “I have not met the players,” Flu tie said. "I understand the situation of new guy coming in. There are loy alties; I have to deal with that. I want to impress the coaches and get my opportunities.” The Bears obtained the rights to Flutie last week from the Los An geles Rams. The Bears traded a - third-round draft choice for a fourth-round choice and gave up a sixth-round pick in the 1987 draft. Flutie, who received $1.3 million from owner Donald Trump to play the 1985 spring season with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League, will receive $175,000 a year from the Bears. His salary this season will be pro rated, which will entitle him to about $100,000 for the balance of this sea son. In four seasons at Boston College, Flutie passed for an NCAA-record 10,579 yards and 67 touchdowns. In nine games in the USFL, he com pleted 134 of 281 passes for 2,109 yards and 13 touchdowns before suffering a broken collarbone. “I’m fine physically. The Bears’ doctors checked me out,” Flutie said. Last week, Bears players in gen eral and regular quarterback Jim McMahon in particular criticized management for acquiring Flutie. “I don’t feel threatened and I don’t think the criticism is pointed directly at me as Doug Flutie person ally, but to a new player,” Flutie said. “I’m coming to a team that won the Super Bowl and is 6-1 this season.” Flutie said he Figured the rest of this season and the next would be devoted to learning. As for McMahon, “I don’t know him, I’ve never met him,” Flutie said. “I know he’s a coriipetitor and he’ll do what’s best for the team. I don’t think his comments were di rected at Flutie but at a new player.” Houston must move game with Arkansas to Astrodome at D ea "’ • the bop f owicbaf : | ,ling 10 ^ HOUSTON (AP) — The South west Conference voted Tuesday to -1 iU :n; ' force the University of Houston to c lei move Saturday’s SWC football game Yie S2 |ul " against Arkansas from Robertson Stadium to the Astrodome, SWC , , do T Commissioner Fred Jacoby said. ^re 350 " 1 ' The game was moved from the ]ieni pb' Astrodome, Houston’s home sta- i teg 001 "',,, dium, Oct. 4, to avoid possible con- ^voii, but diet with the National League play- ^ pla'^'p off series between the Houston t P wtoM/ Astros and New York Mets. ' *01^ But when the Astros were elimi- ()1 | ie r." nated last week, Jacoby said, Arkan sas officials appealed to have the c | e fltib game moved back to the Astrodome, .'ve citing the “unfair competitive advan- rt| 0 od r 1 "': i tage” it would give Houston to play j it’s no 1 ' 11 on the natural grass surface of Rob ertson Stadium on the UH campus. “There is a rule in our sports —ovedb' 5 ' agreement that says no game can be _ •had r*v I played in a stadium that is not a team’s designated home stadium un less approved by the conference,” Jacoby said. Jacoby said Arkansas asked for the change on Friday, two days after the Astros were eliminated from the playoffs. Arkansas Coach Ken HatField said the Razorbacks had not practiced on grass all season and would be at a disadvantage playing on Robertson’s natural turf instead of the artiFicial surface at the Astrodome. HatField said his team had not practiced in cleated grass shoes and Razorback fans were unfamiliar with Robertson Stadium and how to get to the campus. Houston ofFicials had been busily a aring the 22,000-seat Robertson ium for Saturday’s homecom- ing. Houston Coach Bill Yeoman said his team would be disappointed. “It is somewhat disconcerting,” Yeoman said. “They had been really looking forward to it.” Houston officials have discussed playing all home games at Robertson when its Astrodome contract ex pires. Saturday’s game was to be a test for such a move. “It’s not going to be a test of any thing now, is it?” Yeoman asked. It was ironic, Yeoman said, that Arkansas would be complaining about not playing in the Astrodome. “I’ve listened to Frank Broyles (Arkansas athletic director) talk for hours about how bad it was to play in the Astrodome,” Yeoman said. “Now he wants to go there.” SMILE FOR YOUR FAMILY’S GENERAL DENTAL CARE $ 29 00 CLEANING, EXAM & X-RAYS "Call For Appointment • Dental Insurance Accepted • Emergency Walk Ins Welcome • Evening Appointments Available • Nitrous Oxide Available • Complete Family Dental Care • On Shuttle Bus Route _ ^(Anderson Bus) CarePluss^wt MEDICAL/DENTAL CENTER Dan Lawson, D.D.S. 696-9578 1712 S.W. Parkway M-F 10 a.m.-8 p.m. (across from Kroger Center) Sat. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Freshmen & Sophomores HAVE PRIORITY FOR AGGIELAND PICTURES OCT. 20 — 31 A R Photography Studio Hours: 8 to 4:30 M-F Get In The Book! 693-8183 Suite 120-B Texas 707 (across from A&M Polo Field) Whooo’s A Responsible Drinker? A person who: * Sets a limit on how many drinks he/she is going to have and sticks to it * Drinks slowly, never gulping drinks * Avoids drinking on a empty stomach * Does not make drinking the primary focus of an activity Alcohol Awareness Week Oct. 20-24 Alcohol Awareness Program 845-5826 OPEN THURSDAY TILL / 8:00 p.m., AM l*«m» lublKt to prior >al*. St i*i and ooantitiaa Limitation K>m« ihoat 3 Days Only 10-60% OFF ENTIRE STOCK OF RUNNING, JOGGING SOFTBALL AND RACQUET SPORT SHOES IN STOCK Thursday, Friday, Saturday Oct. 23,24, 25 Doors Open 9 a.m. OPEN THURSDAY TILL 8:00 p.m. Patrick, NorthStar, Bata, Adidas, Asani, Foot Joy, Converse, Reebok, Pony, Sperry Topsider, New Balance, Nike, Brooks, Prince, Kaepa, Ellese, Mitre, Romikee, Etonic wTM-STATiE SPORTS CEMTEW Q ^AS AVENUE TOWNSHIRE SHOPPING CENTER I naeigsgnagiaBanaEmpaniiagEgngaBBIBiHflMHaHaBIl MM TEXAS AVENUE The Battalion SPREADING THE NEWS Since 1878 ,y £& w tv law VaTO .*& ww v. w w mwA* wwiw ViW\v