odds choked
T coach deserved better
11 went over to talk to Bob
Beltlich, former head basketball
Bach for the U of Texas, between
games two
'.Bid three
'Bst Friday at
> Be
Buthwest
Binference
Bassic in
' Billas. 1 had
never met
Beltlich
Bfore,
all hough I
Bd heard a
lot about
him and
always had
^nted to
eet him.
Hal L.
Hammons
Sports viewpoint
■ He was sitting there on press row,
all by himself, watching Southern
'^fBethodist and Texas Christian
fPSBirm up, waiting for his game with
Houston that would follow. He
— kiiked nervous — understandable
foi a coach about to lead his team
irtto post-season, single-elimination
anion. Even more so for a coach
who was rumored to be fighting
desperately for his job at the same
Bie.
Bl wished my fathei or brother
were with me at t he time. Dad is a
se;ison-ticket holder f or UT and
Bui is a sophomore at t he school.
FheiflHoth are avid UT basketball fans,
oilgas well as avid Weltlich fans. They
it ijwluld have liked to have been there
rou, ; :to meet him.
jjBPartly for them, partly for myself ,
to differed him my hand and told him
I was from Texas A&M. I told him
tt ^Bout Paul and Dad. 1 wished him
list! Mod luck for the rest of the
me ; r tcjirnament. Why not? A&M already
f/Bd been eliminated. I had to root
e • fd) someone, and it sure wasn’t
jnljBing to be Arkansas or Texas Tech.
OfJltlnight as well be a couple of
YodUfderdogs — the Longhorns and
_ Jtht coach.
v _Hlioth turned out to Ik- lost causes.
SaiyHpuston played well, Texas didn’t,
r (hf japd the Cougars advanced. That
2.9 much wasn’t a big surprise. What
followed last week was.
ive Idl you haven’t heard yet, Weltlich
ted IBs “reassigned” by UT Athletic
Dn ector DeLoss Dodds.
■translation: fired.
ertoB^f respect for the University of
, Tjxas has hit an all-time low, and
thin’s saying a lot. f here are any
number of ways to say it, but maybe
the best is the simplest of all:
m^r Weltlich was done wrong,
n it (A The reasons for the move were
: plai||ere: his record was less than
sas wonderf ul, his brand of ball was
somewhat less than thrilling,
attendance was pathetic. And seeing
it from Dodds’ point of view, it
makes sense. If the program is losing
d money, obviously a change is in
orfler.
■But I m not an accountant. And
*■ from my point of view, it stinks.
IKflWeltlich had the misfortune of
iv following one of the most popular
coaches in UT history — Abe
Lemons. He taught run-and-gun
'xai'Bjcnse, which caters to the masses
e w who see little excitement in setting
udan attack for 30 or 40 seconds
gii: before taking a shot. He was full of
e eii One-liners, almost to the point of
in is. being another Lou Holtz. Even now,
•n d at Oklahoma City College, he still
put makes national news with some of
his cracks.
.jflsiBLemons was fired after his team
[gtlffilost 13 straight games. Injuries were
a large part of that. Lack of depth,
j n oiipiflexibility and poor coaching were
teafflf bigger part.
(ve si[l Rumor has it that Dodds canned
Bnons largely because of his
j rI1 ijailure to emphasize academics.
,.. Most of his players were not exactly
ip. of Phi Beta Kappa caliber. We’re
.talking IQs well within the double-
shcdigit range.
^lost of the talent Lemons had left
school with him or soon
itW
the s<
afterward. Weltlich’s training in the
Bobby Knight School of Basketball
Coaching didn’t exactly endear him
to those who remained.
The media quicklyjumped on his
case, dubbing him “Kaiser Bob” for
tactics such as, God forbid, making
his players practice taking charges
during workouts. And that didn’t
exactly help recruiting.
But the program cleaned up.
Players started going to class and,
not coincidentally, graduating. The
discipline he taught showed up in a
vast improvement in defense — as if
it would be tough to improve on
“nonexistant.”
This year, considered by most to
be the year Weltlich had to deliver
the goods to stay on board, wound
up with the Longhorns tied for
fourth in conference.
You look at that, along with the
“talent” the coach had to work with,
and try to tell me that’s not great
coaching. Many observers think one
more win would have earned
Weltlich SWC Coach-of-the-Year
honors.
Most agreed even Weltlich would
have to be kept on if the Horns won
at least one game at the tournament.
They didn’t. And the ax fell.
Paul thinks he lost the job midway
through the season when the
Longhorns were dealt an
embarassing loss at home to Rice.
Agreed, if one game could cost a
coach his job, that was the game. But
hey, only a couple thousand people
saw it, anyway.
I saw four or five games this year
at the Frank Erwin Center, which
has a capacity of about 16,000.
Nothing but orange seats for miles
and miles at all of them. The UT
“fans” don’t support losers, if you
hadn’t heard. And plenty of
Lemons’ old backers have
unequivocably stated in the
newspapers that they would not
watch another Longhorn basketball
game until Weltlich was fired.
They stuck to it, too. Full marks
for perseverence to those fine
specimens. It must have been tough
this year, when it was becoming
obvious that Texas was getting good
in a big way.
I guess they were convinced that
Dodds wouldn’t tolerate a coach that
couldn’t put fans in the seats,
regardless of his other
accomplishments. They appear to
have been correct.
Too bad. In this day and age of
controversy in college athletics,
Weltlich was a breath of fresh air.
His pupils went to and passed
their classes.There was never any
hint of impropriety concerning him
or his program throughout his
tenure. With such acclaimed
programs as the ones at Maryland
and Memphis State being shaken up
by less-than-squeaky-clean coaches,
it is refreshing to see a program with
no skeletons in the closet.
And an Austin American-
Statesman columnist reported last
week that none other than Dick
Vitale himself was already pushing
Lefty “You-Wouldn’t-Believe-How-
Much-Better -You-Play-on-Cocaine”
Driesell for the job.
A real clean-nosed choice there.
Really gives me hope for the
program.
Vitale’s more reasonable choice is
Gene Keady, the acclaimed but
supposedly unhappy coach at
Purdue and an old roomie of Dodds.
If they could pull that off, I’ll be
impressed. A Keady-for-Fred Akers
deal wouldn’t look too bad at all for
Dodds. But don’t count on it. A
more likely choice for the job is
Eddie Foegler, whose Wichita State
squad made DePaul look like the
Lakers Friday in the first round of
the NCAA tournament.
I can’t help thinking, however,
that the right man for the job was
already there. He just didn’t have a
good PR department.
MX Open MdfcTfanwiitt Am Society • Memort* Student Ceoter • A«t1 Unfcentty
LORNA COOKE deVARON, Founder/Director
March
1988
Rudder Auditorium
8:00 RM.
For ticket Info. Call: 845-1234
Monday, March 21, 1988/The Battalion/Page 11
Tyson retains title
by battering Tubbs
TOKYO (AP) — Mike Tyson
softened Tony Tubbs up with
body punches, then knocked him
down with a left to the head in the
second round to retain the world
heavyweight championship Mon
day at the Tokyo Dome.
After the left hook landed,
Tubbs reeled into a neutral cor
ner and collapsed as Tyson tried
to hit him once again. One of his
cornermen immediately jumped
into the ring and referee Arthur
Mercante stopped the fight.
The end came at 2:54.
Tubbs held his own in the first
round with a left jab. But in the
second round Tyson began land
ing sledgehammer blows to the
body which hurt Tubbs. Tyson
also got in some good right up
percuts and a couple of left hooks
to the head.
But it was the body shots that
spelled the end for the 238'/i-
ound Tubbs. He was badly hurt
efore the left hook that put him
down crashed into the side of his
head. There appeared to be
blood on a yellow towel that was
used to prop up his head while he
was still on the canvas.
Tubbs had said before the
fight he didn’t think he’d win a
decision and would have to gam
ble for a knockout. He never had
a chance to gamble as Tyson took
complete command in the second
round.
The fight was the second
heavyweight title bout in the his
tory of Japan. In (he other,
George Foreman knocked out
Joe “King” Roman in the first
round Sept. 1, 1973.
The Japanese now' have wit
nessed 7 minutes, 56 seconds of
heavyweight championship box
ing. '
Tyson now will fight Michael
Spinks on June 27 at Atlantic
City, N.J., in a defense for which
he is expected to make $17 mil
lion to $20 million.
The fight, which was televised
live in the United States Sunday
night bv Home Box Office, was
Tyson’s first outside the United
States. Defenses in several other
countries are planned.
Tyson, who weighed 2I6 l /4,
picked up $10 million for his sev
enth championship fight. Tubbs’
cut was $550,000 for bis second
loss against 25 wins. Tyson’s re
cord is 34-0 with 30 knockouts.
The 30-year-old Tubbs, a for
mer World Boxing Association
champion, moved well and was
accurate with his jab in the first
round. He also got in some body
blows, but spent most of the time
circling away from Tyson’s con
stant pressure.
Bell unhappy, vocal
playing DH for Jays
From the Associated Press
George Bell, the Toronto Blue
Jays’ reluctant designated hitter, says
he accepted the role Sunday because
he faced a 30-day suspension.
“A solution is coming,” he said, re
fusing to expand but indicating he
remains unhappy as a DH.
He had an RBI single in four at-
bats Sunday during the Blue Jays’ 9-
1 exhibition victory over the Pitts
burgh Pirates.
After two games in National
League parks, it was the first time
Williams could use the DH since Bell
refused the role during a game last
Thursday against Boston.
Manager Jimy Williams sus-
ended Bell for a day and fined him
1,000.
Williams wants to to move Bell,
last year’s American League MVP,
out of left field and give the job to
center fielder Lloyd Moseby, thus
opening the spot in center for rook
ies Rob Ducey or Silvestre Cam-
pusano.
“It’s a 24-man roster, it’s a team
roster and a team does not revolve
around one person,” Williams said.
Astros 2, Twins 1
A two-run single in the ninth in
ning by Rafael Ramirez gave Hous
ton the victory. It followed singles by
Billy Hatcher and Glenn Davis.
Minnesota was limited to four hits
by Mike Scott, Rocky Childress, Scott
Medvin and Larry Andersen.
Rangers 2, White Sox 1
Charlie Hough allowed lour hits
and made no balks in six innings and
Steve Kemp pinch-hit a two-run
homer in the sixth inning for the
Texas Rangers.
In his only other exhibition start,
Hough was called for nine balks in
four innings. He gave up a homer to
Roy Smalley.
Azinger holds off Kite
for Bay Hill Classic win
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paul Az
inger turned back Tom Kite with a
final-round 66 Sunday for a 5-stroke
victory in the Bay Hill Classic.
But it wasn’t that easy. The largest
winning margin of the 2 Pa-month
PGA Tour season was deceptive. On
three occasions — twice on the back
nine — Kite closed to within a stroke
of the lead.
It was not until Azinger engi
neered a 2-shot swing on the 14th
hole that he had some breathing
room.
Azinger chipped in from 25-30
feet and Kite bogeyed from a bun
ker, giving Azinger a four-shot lead
with four holes to play.
He won this one, the fourth of his
career, with a 271 total, 13 shots un
der par on Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill
Club.
The victory was worth $135,000
from the total purse of $750,000 and
pushed Azinger’s winnings for the
season to $209,025.
It also brought an end to peculiar
string of troubles for men who win
the PC.A Player-ol-the-Year title. Az
inger had that distinction last year,
with three victories and $822,481 in
earnings.
His Bay Hill victory marked the
first time since Tom Watson in 1980
that a Player of the Year had been
able to win a tour event the following
season.
Kite, a single stroke back of Az
inger going into the final round, had
a closing 70 and was alone in second
at 276.
No one else was within nine shots
of the runaway Azinger, who led or
shared the lead all four rounds.
FRESHMEN ... LOOKING
FOR INVOLVEMENT?
1988-89 Memorial Student Center Council
Assistant Program
*** The MSC offers an environment for students
to learn and develop leadership skills, as well as
challenge you to become involved in this dy
namic part of Texas A&M.
*** The MSC invites you to join the 1700 other
students who work to put together over 1300 pro
grams yearly for the campus and community.
Informations Sessions will be on March 28 in
Rudder 301 at 7:00 pm and March 29 in Rudde
601 at 8:30 pm.
Only One Session in Necessary
Applications will be available at Orientations.
Indian Fast Food
1 Naaz Kebabs 1
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Now Open!
Kebab Roll
Spiced 100% Ground Beef in Koti (Bread),
with Salad and dressing
65
Indian Chicken Sandwich
Marinated Breast of Chicken, Deep Fried, on a
Bun, with Salad and tangy dressing
95
Other items available
University & South College
near McDonalds
Drive Thru • Walk-up • Outdoor Seating
free" DRINKS
with this ad
Valid thru March 31,
Notes -N- Quotes
846-2255
112 Nagle St.
FREE PARKING
Lasing Printing - Typing Services
Word Processing* Resumes *Thesis
Disertations*Research Papers* Flyers
Printing
From Any IBM or Compatible PC-DOS»MS-DOS»5 l /4 or 3 Vz Disks
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UT
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5th Annual Spring
PLANT FAIR
Seminars on
Displays by
Plant Sales
Texas Wildflowers
Pecan Grafting
Roses
Tissue Culture
Fruit Trees
Pruning
and more
Brazos Vally
Orchid Club
African Violet
Club
and others
Ornamentals
African Violets
Orchids
Roses
Pecans
Blackberries
Bedding Plants
all 6 pks 75«
March 26th 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Horticulture/Forestry Bldg.
(west campus)
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