Tuesday, January 19, 1988/The Battalion/Page 9
Sports
987: The year’s top 10 sports headliners
By Hal. L. Hammons
Assistant Sports Editor
londay’s Battalion sports section
contained my choices for Texas
AScM’s top 10 sports newsmakers of
19}-7. However,
ive as most of you ^ .
I Biize, there Analysis
does exist a
spoils universe
ouiside the hallowed Aggie sphere
of existence.
'eigliVrherefore I present for your con-
sileration my choices for the top 10
sports newsmakers, taking the whole
country into consideration,
prop 10. Dennis Connor
lau HAmerica, for the most part, once
was limited in its knowledge of 12-
meter yachts to their length. No
more, thanks to Dennis Connor and
ESPN.
H'fhe United States gave unprece
dented attention to the battle for the
America’s Cup in 1987. Part of it was
HC be* :ause of the air play that was given
it on cable television. More of the
cfredit should go to the New Zealand
squad that in 1983 made the world
realize someone could beat the
United States in 12-meter yachting.
||y||^|Connnr did the country proud.
He left Fremantle, Australia having
reclaimed the cup he had lost four
years earlier.
9. Andre Dawson
Frustrated and unhappy in Mon
treal, the star outfielder left the Ex
pos, went to Chicago and handed
the Cubs a blank contract.
“Fill in the amount,” he said. The
joys of day games, natural grass and
appreciative fans were enough to
convince him to take a tremendous
pay cut.
The Cubs signed him, he hit 49
home runs to lead the majors, and
he was named the Major League
Baseball Most Valuable Player. The
award was even more significant
since Dawson played for a team that
spent practically the entire year in
the cellar.
8. Mike Tyson
After years of the post-Larry
Holmes era in the heavyweight divi
sion, one boxer finally stood out as
the best of the lot. Tyson reunited
the WBA, WBC and IBF heavy
weight crowns — the first time since
Leon Spinks’ short reign that one
man held all three.
Except for Michael Spinks and
Larry Holmes — the latter of whom
he fights Jan. 21 — he easily de
feated every major pretender to the
throne. Perhaps for the first time
since Muhammad Ali’s day, practi
cally everyone agreed on who the
best heavyweight in the world was.
7. Sugar Ray Leonard
Few thought he could do it. He
was fighting for the second time in
over five years, he had suffered a de
tached retina that worried his fans
constantly, and the fight was against
Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
He insisted he would win. Few
fans or bookmakers agreed. With
size and practically every big intan
gible against him, Leonard not only
lived through the Mack truck that is
Hagler, he won a split decision.
6. Brian Bosworth
The colorful/obnoxious (depend
ing on your point of view) linebacker
opened the season at the Orange
Bowl — on the sidelines.
Sidelined by the NCAA for a drug
infraction (Bosworth insisted he
took the substance before the season
began for medical reasons), he ex
pressed his contempt in typical fash
ion — on a t-shirt. It read “National
Communists Against Athletes,” with
“Welcome to Russia” thrown on the
back for good measure.
After much bantering in the
press, Bosworth decided to forego
his optional year at the University of
Oklahoma and enter the NFL sup
plemental draft. He insisted he
would not play for any team except a
select few. The list did not include
Seattle, the team that chose him.
He insisted he would not sign to
play for the Seahawks, but he re
canted after they offered him a
multi-million dollar contract. He
went on to an average rookie season
in which he overshadowed team
mate Fredd Young, one of the best
linebackers in the league.
5. Bo Jackson
It’s not enough that he has the tal
ent to play professional baseball and
hit 450-foot home runs. He’s got to
be able to play pro football, too.
Jackson showed he could do both,
at least for one year. But in doing so,
he alienated some great baseball fans
in Kansas City.
4. Julius Erving
OK, maybe personal prejudice is
entering in here, placing Dr. J this
high. But Erving’s retirement was a
landmark occasion in pro basketball.
He revolutionalized the game; he
saved the American Basketball Asso
ciation long enough for a merger to
occur; he perhaps even helped
break down a few racial barriers
along the way.
And the entire time, he was the
consummate professional. In an era
of sad excuses for role models in pro
sports, Erving stood apart. He will
be sorely missed.
3. Gene Upshaw
He as the voice of the National
Football League Players Union did
more than anyone else to create the
NFL players’ strike.
Standing on issues that did not
concern the vast majority of his con
stituency, his refusal to compromise
on the issue of free agency (or any
thing else) robbed the American
public of its Constitutionally-guar
anteed Sunday football.
2. Cinderella
1987 was truly the Year of the Un
derdog. From Penn State and its na
tional championship to “Who Dat”
mania in New Orleans, success and
accolades followed the “little guy.”
Who can forget the Minnesota
Twins and their fans? If you can de
serve a world championship for any
other cause than talent, no more de
serving team has ever won a World
Series.
How about the Indianapolis Colts,
who won their division? The Buffalo
Bills, who almost did? And, of
course, let’s not forget all the bounc-
ers-turned-linemen that played
fairly good football for three weeks
— and reminded the NFLPA that
they need the fans and not vice-
versa.
1. A1 Campanis
On the 40th anniversary of Jackie
Robinson’s historic breakthrough
with Los Angeles, the Dodgers’ now-
ex-general manager forever etched
his name in the annals of dishonor,
and he did it by falling flat on his
face at the feet of Ted Koppel.
Campanis’ statements about
blacks not having the “necessities” to
properly man a managerial post in
baseball did more than cost him his
job. The comments, made on ABC’s
“Nightline” news program, brought
to a head the dissatisfaction among
blacks about the apparent race dis
crimination in sports concerning
coaching and front-office jobs.
There are still no blacks in place
as managers of major-league base
ball teams or as head coaches in the
NFL. But the furor raised over the
issue has surely brought about a
quicker solution.
Wezzano
COLLEGE STATION (AP) —
e Avezzano has been promoted
rom line coach to offensive coor-
inator, and Ron Turner is ieav-
.g Southern California to coach
te quarterbacks at Texas A&M,
thletk Director Jackie Sherrill
lid Monday.
Offensive coordinator Lynn
medee left A&M to become of-
insive coordinator at Florida fob
offensive coordinator
lowing the Aggies’ 35-10 victory
over Notre Dame in the Cotton
Bowl.
Sherrill said Avezzano will con
tinue to coach the offensive line,
‘Thi* allows u» to kwp the
same continuity offensively that
we have enjoyed the past three
seasons,” Sherrill said.
Turner, 35, was a receivers’
coach for
they set a school record with 208
pass receptions.
"With Ron’s experience in col
lege coaching and the type of of
fenses he’s handled, we feel he
will fit right in at A&M,” Sherrill
said. “We’re fortunate to have
him.”
Sherrill has yet to replace sec
ondary coach Curley Hallman,
who became head coach at South
ern
McDonald shares player-of-week honors
■ DALLAS (AP) — Texas A&M
gjbard Darryl McDonald shared
nun’s player of the week honors
with Arkansas forward Mario
Credit, while Rice’s Amelia Cooper
was named women’s player of the
week in the Southwest Conference.
Bf McDonald scored 22 points,
grabbed nine rebounds, handed out
14 assists and had seven steals in
Texas A&M’s victories over Baylor
and Arkansas. McDonald also hit a
last-second shot that beat Baylor 58-
57 in Waco last Wednesday.
Credit accounted for 43 points
and 17 rebounds in Arkansas’ vic
tory over Southern Methodist and
loss to Texas A&M last week.
Against the Aggies, Credit scored
a career-high 27 points. In the SMU
85-83 overtime win, Credit scored
16 points and grabbed a team-high
11 rebounds.
In two games Cooper scored 36
points, grabbed 34 rebounds,
handed out four assists and had one
steal as Rice defeated Texas Chris
tian 86-79 and SMU 82-77. Cooper
set career-highs against TCU with
her 16 points and 14 rebounds and
followed that with 20 points and 20
rebounds against SMU.
Brown’s towel antics overshadow
Ags’ performance in Cotton Bowl
Viewpoint
By Anthony Wilson
Sports Writer
Forget the Pittsburgh Steelers’
Terrible Towels. The Minnesota
Twins’ Homer Hankees are old
news. Even our beloved 12th Man
Towels must be
put aside.
For in this
new year of
1988, the most
famous piece of cloth belongs to
Timothy Donell Brown. And don’t
you dare try to take it!
As far as all Aggies are concerned,
the 52nd Cotton Bowl Classic was a
great game. With the offense hitting
on all cylinders and the defense
playing a typical A&M game, the Ag
gies showed what a potent force it is
in college football. Maybe even the
beginning of a dynasty. Maybe even
. . . ooohnh, do we dare say it — fu
ture national championship
material.
But to the rest of the nation, the
1988 Cotton Bowl will be forever re
membered for an altercation be
tween the best collegiate player in
the land and someone most would
not consider to be a true football
player. What a shame.
As the game ended, CBS cut to
shots of Brown leaving the field,
head hanging, helmet in one hand
and that piece of terrycloth dangling
from his belt. The announcers com
mented on what a terrible end it was
to a great career and wondered if
The Incident would tarnish his good
image.
I say no, it doesn’t. Sure, what
Brown did was wrong. After a long
afternoon of frustration and embar
rassment in front of his family,
friends and hometown, Brown got
caught up in the heat of the mo
ment, lost his cool and made a fool
ish mistake.
But let’s also remember how he
handled the constant pressure and
stress of being the leading candidate
for the Heisman Trophy. He was
barraged by interview requests and
constantly under a microscope. Tim
Brown couldn’t even burp without
making headlines.
Through it all, he carried himself
with dignity, style and grace, which
is more than the national champion
Miami Hurricanes, who took
potshots at Brown in the newspa
pers, can say.
Instead of associating the 1988
Cotton Bowl with The Incident, let’s
remember Bucky Richardson’s run
ning, Lance Pavlas’ passing, Darren
Lewis’ touchdown option pass to
Tony Thompson, the swinging gate
conversion and the superb effort by
Adam Bob and the rest of the de
fense.
It
r
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