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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 22, 1987)
Wednesday, July 22, 1987AThe Battalion/Page 5 Sports L£ A to 'HROOSN fribble says he used j^drugs along with Bias at? ■ WASHINGTON (AP) — Brian Tribble, the man acquitted of sup- jplying the cocaine that killed basket- bill star Len Bias, now says he took 'jdfugs with the All-American on the morning he died. ■ But because Tribble has already 'been tried and didn’t take the stand in his trial, the prosecutor in the case ■< savs he is free from any prosecution. ■ “It’s a mistake I readily admit,” Ti ibble, 25, said during an interview Monday with WJ LA-TV in Wash- Mgton. “I admit it truthfully and i now, right here on camera.” ■ Tribble was found innocent June 3pf cocaine distribution and posses sion. Robert Bonsib, the assistant state’s I Htorney in Prince George’s County, Hd., wno prosecuted the case, said ■uesday that the verdict frees Trib- studvaiffle from further prosecution on the Me 'those charges. Bonsib said that since nibble never took the witness stand ■ proclaim his innocence, he also is tattalion fp ee to sa y whatever he wants with- davsfo o[tt committing peijury. I There are no further charges pending against Tribble. “At this point he can admit to total Hvolvement without any jeopardy of prosecution from this office,” Bon- f l/C sib said. “It’s over.” * 11 Bias’ teammates, Terry Long and alHavid Gregg, testified during the ^£Atlial in Upper Marlboro, Md., that I vU Iribble joined them in taking drugs Bth Bias in a University of ? I ■aryland dormitory room on June * 1&, 1986, the morning the basketball star died. n ro J'phgy jgjd f our were celebrat ing Bias’ selection by the Boston Cel tics with the second pick in the first round of the National Basketball As sociation draft when Bias suddenly collapsed at about 2 a.m. Bonsib’s case rested on two prem ises: that Tribble used drugs with Bias on the fatal morning and that he supplied them. The station said Tribble’s inter view was given at the advice of his at torney, Thomas Morrow, who told his client to “lay it all out on the ta ble.” “I would like to say it was recre ational type usage that was going on,” Tribble said. “It wasn’t no abuse . He said despite his acquittal, the drug involvement and Bias’ death still haunt him. “I’m still trying and I’m still . . . you know . . . getting myself back to gether,” Tribble said. “It was a very frightening experience. It was a tra gic experience . . . but I’ve learned a great deal from it.” Tribble hasn’t said who gave Bias the drugs that killed him. “I wish some reporter would ask him sometime where he got the co caine,” Bonsib said. “What he has admitted to is nothing more than what we contended. It’s no surprise to us.” The prosecution also presented as a witness a 17-year-old, self-pro claimed drug dealer, Terence Moore, who said he often sold drugs for Tribble. After the trial, the jury foreman told reporters that the panel did not believe the prosecution’s witnesses. nvestijiS were ra an infe; lid the 2 disease nt of Ccf. s Biwn| 1 the pi' ite was It cure faI ciency | ic body s I i it uns’ • the lit ontactcdl cidentscif ison s»K about !< by hanij mates. stros pull out 4-2 victory, end Expos’ winning streak ■ MONTREAL (AP) — Danny Dar win threw a five-hitter over eight plus innings, and Alan Ashby hit an RBI double and Jose Cruz added a run-scoring single Tuesday night, leading the Houston Astros to a 4-2 victory, halting Montreal’s eight- game, winnipg streak. I Darwin, 7-6, who struck out three and walked one, gave up a leadoff homer to Tim Raines in the ninth before Dave Smith got the final three outs for his 16th save. I Smith allowed a double to Hubie Brooks and a two-out single to Vance Law for Montreal’s other run. i Before Raines’ homer, Darwin al lowed only two runners past second. Mitch Webster tripled with one out in the first but was tagged out at the plate on Tim Raines’ grounder. Law doubled with two outs in the fifth and moved to third on a wild pitch before Jeff Reed popped out. Floyd Youmans, 7-4, had his string of scoreless innings ended at 20, when Houston, wliich broke a four-game losing streak, scored three runs in the third. Bill Doran drove in the first run with a ground out to shortstop and the Astros added a run on consecutive doubles by Denny Walling and Ashby. Hous ton scored scored again one out lateT on Cruz’ single. It was only the fourth time in Houston’s last 12 games they have score more than two runs. 's' top draft picks absent from rookie camp I THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) ■- The Dallas Cowboys’ top two draft picks remained away from the Bractice field Tuesday, missing the [ittlc i» iecond day of workouts for rookies of one si* and free agents. prixludi* Danny Noonan and Ron Francis luetion : Were also no-shows Monday, the first iter nW; day of the workouts, raising the ire . bam *1 of Dallas coach Tom Landry and e cows I NFL club president Tex Schramm, lyshown “Every day they’re out, they’re liurting the heck out of themselves,” ,t the m Landry said. “This is a valuable time itive o# for the rookies this week because if trough fSiey miss this they’re going to have during! to take a back seat to the veterans.” reseat Landry has said Noonan and , glands Francis both have a chance to start | for the Cowboys this season, adding ■onnecfa he believes the holdout was hurting ,t it rei) f Noonan’s chances more than Francis of nffl because Noonan plays on the de fensive line. “Noonan is not going to be a nose tackle (as he was in college), so he has a lot to learn,” Landry said. Schramm said the Cowboys don’t plan to offer Noonan or Francis an other penny for rejecting their con tract offers. “We don’t pay dividends for rookie draft choices to stay out of camp,” Schramm said. “Neither player will get more or less than what we’ve already offered them.” Their absence is the result of “slotting,” a system by which agents try to ensure their player doesn’t make less than players drafted be hind them, Schramm said. “What is happening is agents are posturing so it will help them next in recruiting the college seniors,”, he said. Recent rule changes decrease professional football’s appeal Astrodome could see expansion HOUSTON (AP) — A Harris County judge hopes a plan he has to improve the Astrodome will keep the Oilers in Houston, but it will cost taxpayers more than $2 million annually. County Judge John Lindsay’s plan would boost seating in the stadium by about 10,000 seats at a cost of about $2.5 million in county property taxes. An addi tional $300,000 to $500,000 per year would come from tenants of the Astrodome. The Oilers management, which reportedly has been courted by officials from Jackson ville, Fla., to move the team to their city, has agreed in principle to the proposal, but wanted terms of the agreement to be more spe cific. “We’re not sure if the agreement says there will be 57,000 to 58,000 seats or 65,000 seats,” said Chip Namias, an Oil ers spokesman. Namias said the team is concerned about the ac tual number of seats that will be added to the Astrodome. The Astrodome currently seats about 47,000 for baseball. The proposal calls for the county to add “at least 10,000 seats.” The proposal also calls for new turf over a concrete floor in the sta dium, as well as expansion to the Astroarena. Seating has been a factor in the stadium’s bid for a Super Bowl. Lindsay said his plan would in crease total football seating to 66,900. “It (the plan) does put us up in the area where we can attract a Super Bowl,” he said. “That is where we wanted to be all along,” By Ed Bodde ■ Assistant Sports Editor There is something intimately more exciting in watching any foot ball game than watching a baseball game in the middle of July. Perhaps it’s because football sea son is snorter, and each game . . is more impor- VI©WpOlnt tant. Or could it be that sports fans woulcl rather see one man try ing to separate another man’s head from his body instead of a little white ball being tossed around a diamond? There are Sunday football barbe cues and Super Bowl parties, but people don’t throw bashes for base ball games. The atmosphere of a football game just seems to lend itself to more fan involvement. So it’s with anticipation that this sports fan looks forward to the start of each football season. Or at least I used to. For me, football has changed and not for the better. I don’t know who suggested the changes for “pete’s” sake, but some thing has got to be done. For the last few years the National Football League has seen a drop in its tele vision ratings. And the so-called ex perts haven’t been able to come up with any significant reasons why. Let me supplyjust a few. • First of all, the Constitution of the United States grants rights to all people regardless of race, creed or color unless you’re a defensive back in the NFL. A defensive back cannot touch a wide receiver once he’s five yards be yond the line of scrimmage. And any time the receiver and a defender col lide, that dreaded yellow handker chief goes up into the air to signify pass interference — defensive pass interference. It makes no difference who ran over who or who tripped who, the defender always seems to be guilty. I am getting a bit tired of games being decided on pass inteference penalties that are really just good de fensive plays. Hey all NFL officials, let’s see some more non-calls before the average score becomes 77-70. • Another problem with the game is the “in the grasp” rule. It al lows for a quarterback to be declared down if, in the official’s judgement, he’s “in the grasp.” Is this profes sional football or two-hand touch? Why don’t we just put skirts on all the quarterbacks? And the purpose of the rule is to revent injuries to quarterbacks. I ave yet to see a quarterback get in jured where the m the grasp rule” would have helped. And worse, I don’t even think most quarterbacks like the rule. Al most all argue when they’ve been ruled to be “in the grasp.” What I want to know.is, can a quarterback actually break a tackle? Get rid of this rule Pete Rozelle. Getting tackled and breaking tackles is part of the game. • My third gripe with today’s pro fessional game has to do with the 15- yard personal foul penalty and the unsportsmanlike call. If you were to watch the highlights of a game played 15 to 20 years ago, I am sure one difference would stand out in your mind. The game played in the ’60s and early ’70s was rougher and probably dirtier, too. Now I’m not saying dirty play like Charles Martin’s late hit of Jim Mc Mahon is OK, but too many clean hits are getting whistled as personal fouls. And officials don’t seem to re alize that when your 6 feet 4 inches tall and 260 pounds, it’s awfully dif ficult to stop a full speed charge to ward a quarterback. Unless a de fensive lineman records a sack or arrives just when the ball is released, it’s often called a late hit. Defensive players are being charged with personal foul penalties not just if they hit a guy who is out of bounds but also if they hit a guy who is about to run out of bounds. Why not just reduce the width of the field to 40 yards? The sad thing is that games are being decided on these calls and not on who is the better team. These personal foul calls are also resulting in fines for many players. Can you imagine Dick Butkus’ or Mean Joe Greene’s reactions if they had to pay a fine for hitting someone too hard? • My final complaint having to do with today’s game involves the league office, owners and injuries. There are far more injuries in the game now than 15 or 20 years ago. And as I’ve already said the game was far more brutal and physical then than now. If I had to pinpoint one thing that is causing more injuries, or at least shorter careers, it’s artificial turf. Turf is harder and contains better traction than grass. The result is a severe pounding on the knees. Play ers, the majority of whom hate it, have actually nad season-ending knee injuries on turf without even being hit. Unfortunately for the players, turf is cheaper and much easier to maintain than grass, and neither the owners nor the league office have seen any reason to change to grass. When there’s a buck involved for the owners, the possibility of career-end ing injuries to players seems to get overshadowed. Perhaps Commissioner Rozelle should ask himself, does any of this make sense? Mattingly a pro at breaking records MINNEAK)LIS'(AP) — If it’s not one record ,for Don Mattingly, it’s another. But he rarely seems to know when he’s making history. If the New York Yankees’ first baseman isn’t setting home-run re cords, he’s setting records for extra base hits. If it’s not extra-base hits, it’s putouts, as it was Monday night when Mattingly tied a major-league record with 22 putouts in a nine-in ning game. Monday night, as Tommy John’s sinker was inducing Twin after Twin to hit ground balls, Mattingly was doing no more than what a first baseman is supposed to do — trot over to the bag and catch balls tljrown to him by whoever has scooped up the grounder. Plis ^2 putouts — ‘of the 27 possi ble outs — tied a major-league mark set in 1906 when both Thomas Jones and Hal Chase did it. The only other first baseman to do it was Hall of Famer Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs in 1963. “With two outs in the ninth, I saw it on the board and I couldn’t believe it,” Mattingly said. “I’m really not doing anything on those, just catch ing the ball. Another record. Just what I need.” “Donnie’s the record master,” said Mark Salas, the Yankees’ catcher. “They’re gonna want his glove now.” “Unbelievable, unbelievable, un believable]”' Manager Lou Piniella said. To Mattingly, ignorance is bliss. For example, he didn’t know he was closing in on the American League record for hitting homers in six straight games last week “until someone told me after five games.” He went on to hit homers in eight straight games to tie Dale Long’s 31- year-old major-league record before being “held” to a single and double Sunday by the Texas Rangers. The double in that game gave him at least one extra-base hit in 10 straight games, breaking Babe Ruth’s 66-year-old AL mark and moving him within four games of Paul Waner’s 60-year-old big-league record. But Mattingly said he “didn’t even know about it until you guys told me” after the string was snapped with an 0-for-4 game Monday night against the Minnesota Twins. Another record. Ho-hum. Still, Mattingly admitted that after he knew he needed only one more putout to tie the record Monday night, he was hoping for another grounder. Monday wasn’t all smiles for Mat tingly, however. On Saturday he sprained his right wrist and it has been sore since. He aggravated the injury Monday and his status will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis. Fort Worth site of U.S.-Mexico soccer clash FORT WORTH (AP) — Fort Worth has been selected to host an exhibition soccer game between the U.S. National Team and a First Divi sion team from Mexico City, officials said. The game, between the U.S. team and seven-time Mexican First Divi sion champion Cruz Azul, will be Aug. 30 at Clark Stadium. Also planned is a game between all-star teams from North and South Texas and a parade saluting youth soccer. “Soccer is the fastest growing sport in the U.S. and in our area,” Fort Worth Mayor Bob Bolen said Monday. “Hopefully, this event will just keep the sport rolling along.” Bolen also said he has proclaimed Aug. 30-Sept. 5 as International Soc cer Week. The game, which will conclude the three-game Downy Clasico In- ternacional series between the teams, will be more than just a show case for the countries’ best outdoor talent. U.S. National Team Coach Lothar Osiander will be evaluating 26 play ers, including Dallas Sidekicks mid fielder Eddie Radwanski, for his 18- man roster that will compete in the final round of Olympic qualifying. The United States, which de feated Canada in the first round in May, must defeat Trinidad and El Salvador to become one of the 15 Olympic teams. "We played two Mexican First Di vision teams in April just before the Canada series and it gave us very im portant experience,” Osiander said. “These games give us more chances to play against aggressive, Latin-style teams such as Trinidad and El Salva dor.” The Downy Clasico series begins Aug. 26 with a game in Albuquer que, N.M., and makes an Aug. 28 stop in Houston. Procter & Gamble decided to sponsor the events after similar exhibition games in San Jose and San Antonio drew 14,000 fans. Fort Worth was selected primarily because of Clark Stadium. Cruz Azul refused to play on artificial turf and after an extensive search, Clark was chosen as the best grass field sta dium in the area. Approximately 11 Major Indoor Soccer League players will try out for the National Team, including Wichita Wings all-star forward Chico Borja. “Everybody seems really excited about playing for the National Team,” said Borja, who flew in from the Olympic Sports Festival in North Carolina. “We’ve got a lot of talent to work with. The transition from in door to outdoor is not too difficult because most of the guys grew up playing outdoors.” Also announced Monday was the U.S. Soccer Federation’s bid to host the 1994 World Cup. i this" larkncss it iniM 1 rife” ces lUStOfHj IS. saj' £ uiiIim ■els ard 1 v basis 1 ost thei 1, $25. »is exp 1 is been* expW barrel f illing’i ept a ity, si<» :e nt fe t reacfal MEAT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL SCIENCE JULY SPECIALS!! BEEF SIDES (custom cut, wrapped, frozen) Avg. weight: 300 to 400 lbs: Sold on hanging weight basis. BEEF HINDQUARTERS (custom cut, wrapped, frozen) Avg. weight: 145 to 195 lbs: Sold on hanging weight basis. .$1.25 per lb. $1.45 per lb. Lean Ground Beef Patties $1.49 per lb. Quarter-Pound Patties 10 lbs. per box Half-Pound Patties 12 lbs. per box Lean Ground Beef (2 lb. pkg.) $1.39 per lb. 40 lb. Box $.99 per lb. PAPER WRAPPED SPECIALS!! Price Per Pound* Regular Sale 30-40# Box Beef Tenderloin Steaks $5. 19 $4. 49 $4. 19 Beef Cutlets $2. 69 $2. 39 $1." Beef Rump Roasts (boneless) $2. 69 $1." $1. 49 Beef Sirloin Tip Roasts (boneless) $2. 69 $1." $1. 49 Other Beef, Lamb, Pork, Sausage, Dairy Products and Farm Fresh Eggs are available. Prices effec tive while supplies last or through July 31, 1987. We are open for business Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. We are located on the West Campus between the Kleberg Center and the Horticulture/Forest Science Building. (Phone 845-5651). You’d think any dictionary would have all the words in this newspaper. -/-/ in csMiiSilmm / SHOOKIO HDYTYOVA LJ NJ A BY^\Y^GY30 Surprising? Not really. Not when you consider the cultural explosion that’s occurred in the past twenty years. Our language has been enriched-dramatically changed-by thousands upon thousands of vital new words. And there’s only one source where you'll find virtually all of them. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language: Second Edition Unabridged. 7 am stunned b\ its merits.”-James A. Michener In fact, only this dictionary does. • Over 50,000 new words and 75,000 new definitions. • Edited in cooperation with 400 subject experts. • 75,000 example phrases • and worlds more. The first new unabridged dictionary in 21 years. Available at: 845-8681