Wednesday, November 18,1987/The Battalion/Page 9
Whitwell
(continued from page 7)
San Angelo State and Southwest
Texas State and come to A&M.
“I think I probably could have
gone academic if I failed to earn a
fischolarship in volleyball,” she said.
“Volleybau is a sport you go into
knowing you’re not going to make
much money out of once you’re Fin
ished with college. So of course my
primary goal in college was to get a
good education and a good degree.”
Whitwell didn’t play much her
freshman year, so she said there
wasn’t mucn to do except study.
“I started out with some really
grades, and from then on it’s
?en sort of a habit to try to keep up
the good marks,” said Whitwell, who
was the valedictorian of her graduat
ing class in high school.
“It’s not as though I set a goal to
be on the academic Southwest Con
ference team, but it came as a result
of the goals I already had — just
make the best grade I could and
shoot for A’s,” she added.
Although Whitwell led Cotulla
High School to the 3A Finals of the
Texas state high school tournament
and was named to the all-state team,
she didn’t receive any volleyball
scholarship offers from Division I
universities. When she made her de
cision to attend A&M, she also de
cided to walk on with the volleyball
team.
“I felt like I could play a sport at
that level,” she said. “I wasn’t really
sure whether I was going to play bas
ketball or volleyball. I guess that I
just had the faith in myself.
“I hadn’t even begun to learn all
the skills of the game well and the
strategies of the game, but I had all
the physical and mental ability to do
that. I felt like I had the athletic abil
ity to play, but that it would be an
amount of dme before I would see
the court.”
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By Doug Hall
Assistant Sports Editor
When the topic of a college foot
ball playoff comes up in the next sev
eral weeks, as it most certainly will,
take some advice and tell people that
a playoff format would be totally ig
norant.
After thor-.
oughly upset- yflewpomt
mg your oppo- ■ww. r »
sition with such
a bold thesis
statement, use these points in de
fense of your argument:
First, should the NCAA instill a
playoff format, it would be the First
practical move that the incredibly
mismanaged organization has made
in umpteen years. Such a move un
doubtedly would cause heart attacks
and health problems among athletic
directors and coaches across the na
tion.
Second, a playoff would allow
players, not press members or
coaches, to determine which team
should be voted tops in the nation.
In doing so, the playoff would vir
tually eliminate all post-season whin
ing, sniveling and bickering by the
No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 teams that
“shou/d have been No. 1.”
Finally, argue that a college play
off would destroy the all-important
bowl system. Imagine what Jan. 1
would be like if a Pac 10 team didn’t
whip it’s Big 10 opponent in the
Rose Bowl, or if the Orange Bowl or
the Fiesta Bowl didn’t determine the
national champion.
By now, if your opponent hasn’t
recognized the sarcasm oozing out
from underneath your shoes, it’s
time to Find someone else to sucker.
Let’s be for real. The college foot
ball Finale is really a college football
Fiasco.
In order to determine the best col
lege football team in the nation,
games stretch from late August
through early January. Thousands
and thousands of hours are spent in
search of the elusive No. 1 spot. The
same distinction, incidentally, that
certain college basketball and base
ball teams achieve through playoffs
each year.
So why doesn’t the NCAA adapt a
football playoff system? Because it
would make too much sense, that’s
why not.
The format for a playoff, as has
been proposed by prominent ath
letic officials across the country, is al
ready there. Don’t change or elimi
nate the bowl games, but use those as
preliminary brackets just as the
NCAA does in the Final Four tour
nament. There, schools across the
country are split in to geographic re
gions, with top-ranked teams as the
host team in each division.
The current bowl system accom
plishes virtually the same thing.
The Rose Bowl matches the top
Pac-10 team (West) against the top
Big-10 team (Northeast). The Cot
ton Bowl pits the Southwest Confer
ence (South) winner against another
team from anywhere across the na
tion.
Similarly, the Orange Bowl takes
the Big Eight (South, Southwest)
representative and an unspecified
opponent and the Sugar Bowl takes
the Southeastern Conference win
ner (Southeast) against another un
specified team. The Fiesta Bowl
changes the format slightly by taking
two top-rated, unspecified teams.
Thus, the original pairings are set
for the top five games (10 teams).
Choose the best three match-ups
from the remaining bowl games (six
teams) and then determine brackets
that hopefully will pit your top two
teams against each other in the fi
nale.
True, this 16-team format would
tack on three games for the eventual
top two teams, but so what.
The NCAA could force teams to
drop one of their non-conference
pre-season games that are incredibly
one-sided anyway. By starting the
season a week later, teams will look
sharper, play better and eliminate
worthless games.
People who oppose the playoff
idea say additional games hurt the
athlete’s attempt to study and gain
an education. That’s trash.
The regular season for most
schools ends in late November, al
lowing bowl-bound players several
weeks to prepare for the upcoming
team, study for finals and spend
Christmas at home before final
game preparations.
Furthermore, the post-bowl
games would all be played in Jan
uary before the semester starts or in
the first week of the term. Nobody
cracks a book the first week of school
anyway.
But don’t expect the NCAA to
make such drastic changes any time
in the near future.
Knowing that it takes them at least
two years to produce results from an
investigation, such playoff changes
are likely to be a turn-of-the-century
occurrence. If they occur at all.
If nothing else changes, the
NCAA should at least step in and al
ter the laughable bowl “bidding”
process.
Supposedly, bids can’t be officially
offered until this Saturday.
I guess that’s why Notre Dame is
“definitely” coming to the Cotton
Bowl, why Miami is “locked in” to
the Orange Bowl and Clemson is
“certain” to get a bid for the Sugar
Bowl
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IRVING (AP) — Steve Pelluer will
get more work with the first team
this week and could start at quar
terback against the Miami Dolphins,
Dallas Cowboys Coach Tom Landry
said Tuesday.
Veteran Danny White’s sore right
wrist “concerns us,” Landry said.
“Danny is a good quarterback and
it’s a shame he’s had to face it (the
wrist problem) all season,” Landry
said. “The wrist really has no chance
of getting better.”
Landry said Pelluer, who hasn’t
thrown a pass this season, will get
equal work with the first team.
“Usually the number-one quar
terback takes the snaps in practice,
but we will probably split ’em now,”
Landry said. “I haven’t decided
whether to rest White or not.”
Not only would Landry not name
White as his starter for Sunday’s
game against the Dolphins, but he
hinted he could possibly platoon
quarterbacks if he thought it would
work.
“I’m not sure what will happen
but we need to get Steve ready to
play,” Landry said. “Even if Steve
played I wouldn’t hesitate to put
Danny in there if needed.”
Dallas was 1-7 with Pelluer at
quarterback last year when White
suffered his broken wrist against the
eventual world champion New York
Giants. The shell-shocked Pelluer
was sacked 38 times.
Pelluer had a poor summer camp
and suffered a concussion in a brief
appearance before the National
Football League strike.
“Steve is grasping things better
and throwing better and doing
things well now,” Landry said. “I’ll
move Pelluer very easily into a game
now. The odds are very good you
will see Pelluer. And if I do substi
tute for Danny now it’s not because I
think we have been defeated; it’s be
cause I think we can win with Steve.”
Landry said he also wouldn’t hesi
tate to use third-string quarterback
Paul McDonald, who has never
played in a regular season NFL
game for the Cowboys.
“McDonald is a veteran who has
the experience to run our system,”
Landry said. “It’s always a possibility
I could use him.”
Landry said the Cowboys needed
to pass better in the next two games
because Miami and Minnesota (on
Thanksgiving Day) are high-scoring
teams.
“They are very potent teams and
we will have to be able to move the
ball and score with them,” Landry
said.
He said opponents would be
looking for Herschel Walker.
“They’ll gang up on Walker,”
Landry said. “Of course, that doesn’t
mean you’re always going to stop
him. He’s still capable of carrying 30
times a game. But we also have to get
our passing game in gear.”
Pelluer, a fifth-round draft pick
out of the University of Washington,
is in his fourth season.
His biggest day in the NFL was
against the New York Giants in 1985
after White was knocked out. Pelluer
led the Cowboys on a game-winning
drive that clinched the NFC East ti
tle.
“Steve has looked good since the
strike,” Landry said.
White pulled out a 23-17 overtime
victory over New England on Sun
day with a 4th-and-13 completion
that led to the game-tying field goal.
However, he also suffered two in
terceptions that led to New England
points.
“Danny’s lack of consistency really
concerns us,” Landry added.
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Bell edges out Trammell forAL MVP honors
NEW YORK (AP) — George Bell
of the Toronto Blue Jays became the
first member of a Canadian team to
win the American League Most
Valuable Player award Tuesday,
edging Alan Trammell of the De
troit Tigers in the voting.
Bell, the first Dominican to be
named MVP, beat the Tigers’ short
stop by 21 points, getting 332 points
to Trammell’s 311 in voting by the
Baseball Writers Association of
America.
Bell will receive a $50,000 bonus
from the Blue Jays. The outfielder’s
base salary for 1987 was $1,285,000.
Two association members in each
of the 14 AL cities were eligible to
vote. Bell received 16 first-place
votes and Trammell 12.
Minnesota outfielder Kirby Puck
ett was third in the voting with 201
points, followed by Boston’s Dwight
Evans and Milwaukee’s Paul Moiltor.
Bell’s outstanding season was
somewhat tarnished by a damaging
slump in the final weeks of the sea
son as Toronto battled Detroit for
first place in the AL East.
Bell struggled through a 2-for-26
finish as the Tigers swept the Blue
Jays in the final three games to win
the division.
Bell, who is not always cooperative
with the media, hit .308 with 47
home runs, a league-leading 134
runs batted in and 111 runs scored,
the latter three setting club records.
He also had a .605 slugging percent
age and 16 game-winning RBIs.
He staged a season-long battle
with Oakland rookie Mark McGwire
for the AL home run title before Mc
Gwire Finished with 49.
“He’s got a bad shoulder from
carrying the rest of the ballclub all
summer,” Detroit Manager Sparky
Anderson said of Bell after the Ti
gers beat the Blue Jays 1-0 on the fi
nal day of the season.
Trammell moved to the No. 4
spot in the lineup during spring
training, after the defection of free
agent Lance Parrish. Trammell re
sponded by hitting career-high .343
with 28 home runs, 105 runs batted
in and 205 hits.
He was the first Tiger since Al Ka-
line in 1955 to have 200 hits and 100
RBI in the same season.
Trammell was 3-for-9 in the sea-
son-ending series against Toronto,
with one home run and two RBI. His
home run tied the first game and his
second RBI, on a ball through short
stop Manny Lee’s legs, won the sec
ond game.
There were no excuses from Bell
after the Tigers swept the final three
games from Toronto in Detroit.
“They gave me the pitches to hit. I
missed them,” he said.
Since becoming a full-time player
with Toronto in 1984, Bell has aver
aged .296 with 33 homers and 106
RBI.
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Nets win first game
at Rockets' expense
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ.
(AP) — Orlando Woolridge
scored 29 points and Otis Bird
song made a go-ahead jumper
with 49 seconds left as the New
Jersey Nets won their first game
of the NBA season, a 114-111 vic
tory over the Houston Rockets
Tuesday night.
Birdsong scored only four
points, but his 12-footer gave the
Nets a 112-111 lead.
The Rockets got 26 points and
10 rebounds from Ralph Samp
son. Reserve center-forward Ben
Coleman scored 18 points, one
short of his career-high, and
Buck Williams had 17 points and
13 rebounds for New Jersey.
Coleman had three baskets
during a 14-6 run by the Nets af
ter the Rockets took their only
lead of the third quarter, 77-76,
on a rebound and dunk by Samp
son with 5:20 left.
Houston didn’t regain the lead
until a jumper by World B. Free,
who scored 17 points, made it
104-103 with 5:51 left. Free then
passed to Cedric Maxwell for an
easy layup 23 seconds later.
After a free throw by Mike
Gminski put New Jersey ahead
110-109 with 1:27 left, Sampson
gave the Rockets their last lead
with a bank shot at the 1:10 mark.
Birdsong then put the Nets
ahead for good with his jumper,
John Bagley hit two free throws
with 18 seconds left and the
Rockets missed two 3-point at
tempts in the closing moments.
The Nets, buoyed by Wool-
ridge’s 19 points, led 65-58 at
halftime.
U.S., Scotland head field
in World Cup of Golf action
KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — The
United States and Scotland appear
to be the leading contenders in the
revived World Cup of Golf that re
turns this week after a one-year ab
sence.
“There was no problem with the
money. There was no problem with
a venue,” Burch Riber, executive di
rector of the sponsoring Interna
tional Golf Association, said of the
one-year break in play.
“We simply needed to do some re
organization to get back to what the
World Cup is all about — interna
tional goodwill through golf,” Riber
said.
“Now we’re on a solid footing,
with a new board of directors, and
we’re ready to go to the four corners
of the world in the next few years,”
Riber said.
He lauded Ken Scofield of the Eu
ropean PGA, now a board member,
for his help in arranging for strong
European participation in the World
Cup.
And it is from those countries,
particularly Great Britain, that the
once-dominant United States ex
pects its greatest challenge, Ben
Crenshaw said.
“There are a number of very
strong teams, particularly from Eu
rope. We’ll have to play very well to
get the Cup back,” said Crenshaw,
who will play with Payne Stewart as
the American team in the field of
two-man teams from 32 nations that
begin competition Wednesday.
Both Crenshaw and Stewart
played in the Kapalua International
on the same Bay course last week,
with Crenshaw finishing fourth.
“It’s a definite advantage to have
had a week of competition on the
same course before going into the
World Cup,” Crenshaw said.
It’s an advantage, however, that is
shared with Sandy Lyle of Scotland,
who was third in the Kapalua tour
nament and has a history of strong
play at the Bay course.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
The State Department of Highways and Public Transporta
tion will hold a Public Hearing concerning the proposed
highway construction on State Highway 21 from the Little
Brazos River east to the Texas A&M Annex; State Highway
47 from the Texas A&M Annex south to Farm to Market
Road 60; Farm to Market Road 60 from Farm to market
Road 2818 west to the Brazos River; and Farm to Market
Road 1688 from the end of existing Farm to Market Road
1688 south and west to Farm to Market Road 60. The
meeting will be held in Assembly Room No. 2 at the Brazos
Center at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 15, 1987. Maps
and other drawings showing the proposed locations and
designs will be displayed at the public hearing together
with the Environmental Study. The State.Relocation Assis
tance Program, the benefits and services for displacees,
and information concerning the relocation assistance office
will be discussed. Tentative schedules for right of way ac
quisition and construction will also be discussed.
All interested citizens are invited to attend this public hear
ing. Verbal and written comments from the public regarding
the projects are requested. Comments may be presented
either at the hearing or may be submitted to Mr. Carol D.
Zeigler, District Engineer, at:
P.O. Box 3249, Bryan, Texas 77805, but must be received
not later than 5:00 p.m. December 28, 1987.