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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 28, 1987)
Tuesday, July 28, 1987/The Battalion/Page 5 *9% CHER' Sports Im W.jtizn i to platt lals. er s which was W ' an ar.6- 1 otingu;- •fthefc 1979, n ice was lea 1 - an and w xas Klat “bordeij catch M e led a 4 Fort H»: Klans® ipeared * he And-fc 80 and if ween AM len along* aamese^ •e bum« boats i ^TS Lewis to be eligible for Aggies this season Texas A&M prized football re cruit Darren Lewis said he will be eli gible to play for the Aggies this fall as he passed the American College Test, thus meeting the academic re- I quirements of Proposition 48. The Parade All-America running back had twice failed to meet Propo sition 48 standards on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Lewis would not re veal his score on the ACT. The 5-1 1, 205-pound bluechip prospect will join fellow bluechip ! running back Randy Simmons out of McKinney to give the Aggies a wealth of talent at the running back position. Both Lewis and Simmons are considered “can’t miss” pros pects. A&M Coach Jackie Sherrill has said that Lewis and Simmons could come in and play immediately for the Aggies this season. Lewis could have still attended A&M as a provisional freshman even if he had not met ACT or SAT re quirements, but he would not have been eligible to play football as a freshman. High school All-Stars take to field tonight FORT WORTH (AP) — Quar terback Wilbur Odom will try to close out his schoolboy career in re cord form tonight when he leads the South All-Stars against the North in the Whatabui ger Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star football game. The 53rd annual game is held as part of the 10,300-member coaching association that also staged Monday night’s All-Star basketball game at TCU’s Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. Odom, who passed for 411 yards in a game last season, will have to surpass the coaching school passing record set by Tomball’s Lance Pava- las, now at Texas A&M. Pavalas had a 246-yard performance at last year’s game in Houston. Odom passed for 6,122 yards in his high school career at San Anto nio Holmes, including 3,305 last sea son. Odom, who will attend the Uni versity of Michigan this fall, will be coached for the last time by his high school coach, Gary Malesky, the head coach for the South. “We plan to throw the ball but we won’t have that many routes,” Ma lesky said. “Wilbur already knows our offense so that’s going to help out some.” While the South will be spear headed by a strong passing attack, North Coach Gary Childress of North Mesquite will have one of the state’s top running backs, Randy Simmons of McKinney. Simmons, who will attend A&M this fall, set a Class 4A rushing re cord of 2,557 yards last season, lead ing the Lions to the state finals. “Randy is just a tremendous run ning back,” Childress said. “He’s got the quick feet, the quick eyes and the big frame to go with it.” Childress says the North’s best chance for victory could be in brunt- ing Odom’s passing attack and he thinks he has the defensive person nel for such a game plan. “We’ll run a 5-2 defense and we feel that our linebackers are going to be very strong,” Childress said. The North will have Eastland’s Ja son Rattan and Amarillo Palo Duro’s William Thomas at quarterback. “We also have a fine group of re ceivers so you’ll probably see us throwing the ball a little more than we might otherwise,” Childress said. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Texas Christian University’s Amon Carter Stadium. Pressure part of the game in minor league baseball MIDLAND (AP) — In minor league baseball, as in other aspects of i professional sports, pressures are a P reality and concentration is a must. Players on the Class AA Midland J Angels of the Texas League are | caught at a crossroads of profes- I sional baseball. Everybody’s impatient. The fans >: are eager for victories. The parent ■ major league club is in a hurry for the players to mature and reach • their potential. Managers and |. coaches want immediate perfor- mance. The players themselves, and their families, want to improve and ! move up to a spot in the major leagues. “You have to concentrate every day. That’s the toughest thing to do,” says Damon Farmar, cen- l terfielder for the Midland Angels. “You have to play hard every day be cause you never know who’s watch ing.” Farmar, who just turned 25, says the biggest difference between ma jor leaguers and those who haven’t made it is “how they go about the Mob.” “Some get complacent in the mi nor leagues,” he said. He guards against getting complacent. “I concentrate on things I have :control over,” he said. He credits his ental attitude toward the game to the year he spent with the Oakland Athletics’ farm system. “When you look at it, pressure is just a factor of the game,” he said. John Hotchkiss, an infielder with the Angels, said lack of money can create a problem for minor leaguers. He has thought about taking an other job, but the schedule of minor league ball “wouldn’t jive with an other employer,” he said. Minor league players learn not to eat steak every night, he said. However, it is easy to get over the financial aspect because he is “doing something I’ve always wanted to do. You really have to love it,” he said. Hotchkiss said he plans to play at least until the major league has an other expansion. If he’s not drafted then, he’ll re-evaluate his career, he said. His biggest disappointment, he said, was when he was traded away from the Oakland Athletics’ system after three years. “Having the feeling that they gave up on me was tough to deal with,” the Nuevo, Calif., native said. “If I didn’t feel I could play in the big leagues, I would probably be doing something else right now,” he said. “When I don’t feel like I can or that I won’t get the opportunity, then maybe it’ll be time to do some thing else.” 3oys QB Sweeney bright spot for Cowboys THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — The only thing that stands betweeen Kevin Sweeney and a spot as a reserve quar terback on the Dallas Cowbo\ roster is his size. The computers say NFL quar terbacks aren’t supposed to make it when they stand only 6 feet tall: That’s why 175 other players were taken ahead of Sweeney on NFL draft day. “We’re hoping Kevin will be an exception,” Cowboys’ President Tex Schramm said. “He has al ready displayed some exceptional skills in training camp.” Sweeney, who broke Doug Flu- tie’s NCAA career passing record with 10,623 yards and had 66 ca reer touchdown passes at F'resno State, has drawn praise from Coach Tom Landry. “He has a strong arm and also has shown the ability to lob the ball into the hands of the receiv ers on deep patterns,” Landry said. “He also is a competitor. You can see that.” Sweeney was impressive Sun day in a scrimmage against the Los Angeles Raiders. He hit 10 of 14 passes for 163 yards, including a 62-yard strike to Everett Gay. “He looked pretty good for his first outing,” Landry said. “He made some good decisions.” “I was a little jittery at first in my first professional-type game,” Sweeney said. “But I settled down. I really love our offense and I think I’ll keep getting bet ter.” Sweeney spent three weeks in Dallas learning the Cowboys’ playbook after he was drafted in the seventh round. “I know the odds are a little long for me so I wanted to learn all I could about the offense,” he said. Sweeney is no stranger in the Cowboys’ training camp. He used to visit camp as a kid with his father, Jim, the head football coach at Fresno State. The younger Sweeney kept busy catching punts from quar terback Danny White. “He’d catch Danny’s punts and come home with red scrapes all over his arms,” Jim Sweeney said. “Kevin has always loved the Cow boys and now he has his chance to be one.” Reggie Collier was released to give Sweeney a chance to make the team. Women's Open playoff set EDISON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — LPGA Hall of Earner JoAnne Garner three-putted from 25 feet on the 18th green for a bogey and fell into a tie for the lead with Ayako Okamoto and Laura Davies on Mon day, forcing an 18-hole playoff in the 42nd U.S. Women’s Open. Garner, Okamoto and Davies will play 18 holes today at the Plainfield Country Club, beginning at 8 a.m. CDT. If a winner is not determined after 18 holes, there will be a sudden death playoff. For a while it looked like the 48- year-old Garner was going to break a two-year victory drought and cap ture her third Open and 43rd pro fessional victory. She started the round three shots behind Okamoto, the leader heading into the fourth round, and two shots behind Davies, the reigning British Open cham pion. Carrier, who equaled a course re cord with her fourth-round 3-un- der-par 69, pulled within two shots of the leaders after nine holes and grabbed a share of the lead by sink ing a 5-foot birdie putt at the par-3, 130-yard 15th hole. She then grabbed the lead with a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-5, 493- yard 17th hole. Garner put her second shot on the back fringe of the par-4, 18th hole and boldly went for the cup using her putter. The shot slipped about 6 by the hole. The crowd groaned when the par-saver fell just snort. Davies and Okamoto both had long birdie putts at the 17th and 18th holes, with Davies’ attempt at No. 17 just lippng out of the cup. All three finished the 72 holes at 3-under-par 285, four shots ahead of Betsy King and Jody Rosenthal. Okamoto, who at one point in the final round lead by three shots until running into putting problems, had a final round of 70, while Davies had a scrambling round of 71. “I really didn’t expect a playoff; I really thought I might sneak in,” Garner said. “I was in good position ing ahead of the leaders and I v I was playing such good iron shots, that if I could knock in a few putts I really could go to town.” Garner, who last won in the Safeco Classic in 1985, was excited about the playoff, which will be her second in a U.S. Open. She defeated Sandra Palmer by two shots in 1976 to win the title. “You could not ask for three hot ter players or three more interesting players for a playoff,” she said. “There are the international players, the old veteran is in there. I think it’s going to be fun.” Okamoto, a resident of Tokyo, seemed to have the tournament sewed up early. She opened a three- shot lead over Davies and Garner af ter eight holes of almost flawless golf. However, her putter then de serted her, starting at the par-4, 362- yard ninth hole. She reached the fringe in two and her first putt from 50 feet went 20 feet past the hole. Her second putt hit the cup and bounced five feet away and her putt for bogey slid by the hole for a dou ble-bogey 6. Davies, playing with Okamoto, then knocked in a 3-foot birdie putt and suddenly there was a two-way tie for the lead at 3-under-par with Gar ner in hot pursuit. The 36-year-old Okamoto re grouped on the next hole and sank a 4-foot birdie putt, but she had trou bles with her putter again on No. 14 after hitting within three feet of the hole. Her birdie try went 18 inches past the hole and she then missed that putt. The 23-year-old Davies had three birdies and two bogeys in her round, but was constantly farther away from the hole than Okamoto. Her birdies were from 15, 20 and 3 feet, while both her bogeys came when she missed the green. Davies, whose drive on the par-3, No. 5 hit the pin and bounced 12 feet away, paired the final nine holes. Debbie Massey and Deedee Rob erts finished tied for sixth at 2-over- par 290. Red Sox experience hard times one year after World Series berth BOSTON (AP) — One year ago, Wade Boggs was swinging his way to a third batting championship. Roger Clemens was 17-2 en route to a 24-4 record and the American League Cy Young and MVP awards. And the Boston Red Sox were cocky, knocking critics at every op portunity, while rolling along nearly 20 games over .500 in their first suc cessful pennant march since 1975. Now, Boggs still is pounding the ball, leading the major leagues with a .373 average through weekend games. But Clemens is 10-7. The kanga roo court is ancient history. Don Baylor, 38, is nearing the end of the line. The cockiness is gone. Sharp talk has quieted. The Red Sox are wallowing in fifth place and struggling just to reach .500 in the AL East. After coming to within one strike of their first World Series championship since 1918 just 10 months ago, the Red Sox are in trou ble again — the same as after win ning pennants in 1967 and 1975. And a changing of the guard is under way as General Manager Lou Gorman, Manager John McNamara and their staffs try to restructure the team. The release of first baseman Bill Buckner, 38, who drove in 102 runs last year, was just a step in the pro gram back to respectability. The cliche ‘youth will be served” E revails. Rookie outfielders Ellis urks and Mike Greenwell have proved they belong. Now outfielder- first baseman Todd Benzinger and designated hitter-first baseman Sam Horn are getting opportunities. Just one year ago the Boston ros ter included Tony Armas, Tom Seaver, Sammy Stewart, Tim Lollar, Rey Quinones, Glenn Hoffman, Dave Stapleton, Kevin Romine and LaSchelle Tarver. All are gone. Gorman and McNamara began reshuffling their cast in August, shipping Quinones, an outstanding shortstop prospect, to Seattle to get Spike Owen and Dave Henderson in a multiplayer trade. Buick Open record stands * e> championship Sunday, shot on the final hole GRAND BLANC, Mich. (AP) — Robert Wrenn’s flirt with golfing history takes him out of the “Robert Who?” category and has some mce side benefits, too. Wrenn had a chance to tie the PGA Tour record of 27-under-par in winning the Buick Open but his third hung on the lip, two-thirds over the cup, and wouldn’t drop. As a result, Wrenn finished at 26- under and a whopping seven strokes ahead of Dan Pohl for his first Tour- victory. It wasn’t good enough to match the record for a 72-hole event set hy legendary Ben Hogan in 1945 and equaled by Mike Souchak in 1955, but Wrenn’s 26-under was still the best score on the Tour since 1967, when Gay Brewer won the Pensacola Open with that score. “I was really trying to push myself to set the records,” said Wrenn, 27, who earned a communications de gree from Wake Forest in 1981. “Ev ery day it was like some outer force was going to lead me around. “What amazed me ws hitting shot after shot that was not just good, but real good.” Wrenn set Buick Open and 1987 Tour scoring records for lowest 36 holes at 16-under and 54 holes at 21- under. He also had the largest 36- hole and 54-hole leads, both six shots. Nobody knew Wrenn until last weekend, and not without some rea son. A pair of ninth-place ties were his best Tour finishes in four sea sons. He missed the cut in six ol his previous nine tournaments. On the eve of the Buick Open, he received a form from the Tour for the Fall Qualifying School, figuring he wasn’t going to win enough to keep his card. He had won only $15,531 and his career earnings were $74,796. “Well, I’ve got news for all of them: the ante just went up,” Wrenn said. “This opens doors that before were bolted sriut.” His victory in the Buick Open was worth $108,000 and use of one of the sponsor’s cars for a year. If history follows, Wrenn is likely to go on to bigger and better things. Peter Jacobsen, Denis Watson and Ken Green notched their first Tour victories at the Buick Open and have done very well since. PiTTB Wednesday -Hut s P ecial Buy a LARGE one topping PIZZA plus a pitcher of soft drink for only 501 University 99 good every Wednesday Northgate Go Ahead, Ignore Your Teeth. ...They’ll Go Away. Sure, you mean to brush. After every meal. Only sometimes there’s not enough time. OK, a lot of the time there’s not enough time. At CarePlus, we understand. And we can help. We’ll examine and clean your teeth for only $29 cash -- including x-rays. That’s a $44 value. We’ll even accept your dental insurance up front, at our regular prices. So quit worrying about your teeth. And smile! CarePlus. Where quality health care is always convenient. CarePlus^ MEDICAL & DENTAL CENTER Southwest Pkwy at Texas Avenue 696-0683 696-9578 MEDICAL DENTAL Owen and Henderson played ma jor roles as the Red Sox won the pen nant. Armas, Seaver, Stewart and Stapleton — all proven players — were sent packing after the seven- game World Series loss to the New York Mets. Lollar, who merely took up space with a guaranteed contract in 1986, was released last spring, at a cost of about $775,000. Henderson opened this season as the regular center fielder. However, he was replaced in the first month by Burks, a speedster with fair power. Greenwell has been around .300 in part-time duty. Benzinger has been impressive in his first month in the majors. Horn had two homer^ and five RBI in his first two major leagues games last weekend. Dwight Evans, 35 and in his 15th season with Boston, is enjoying a banner season, with 20 home runs for the seventh consecutive year. Veteran slugger Jim Rice, whot hit .324 and drove in 1 10 runs last year, got off to a terrible start, but appears back in form, inching to ward the .300 mark although he has only 10 homers. Catcher Rich Gedman has been Boston’s biggest disappointment. After hitting .274 with 69 homers and 288 RBI in six major league sea sons, Gedman elected to test the free agency market last winter. He came up empty in talks with other clubs an re-signed with the Red Sox on May 1. He was set back so badly by the layoff that he is barely hitting his weight and finally hit his first homer last weekend. McNamara blames the loss of Gedman until May and Clemens’ boycott of spring exhibition games in a bitter salary dispute as the major causes of the Red Sox woes this year. The overall pitching has been poor. The bullpen has only nine saves, compared with 14 by Bob Stanley alone at this stage in 1986. However, right-hander Wes Gard ner, who missed all of last year and has an 0-5 record, and rookie south paw Tom Bolton have been impres sive recently. WELLBORN Tuesday Brisket Plate 2 vegetable, Tex Toast $3. 49 only a couple more [weeks left for the Pool Tournament 25< Meister Brau l. 25 Picthers 4-7 Daily 690-0046 Orders to go m 2154 (Wellborn Rd) 6Y2 Miles South of Kyle Fiekt