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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 1988)
Page 12/The Battalion/Monday, April 18, 1988 (Continued from page 9) and the Texas Tech series — where A&M pitchers combined for 35 strikeouts in 25 innings — have been the highlights of the Aggies’ season. But there is one major difference: The Astros leave this game knowing they have 15 1 games to go — practically the entire season. The Aggies, on the other hand, really cannot afford to lose another game besides one of the three in Austin. It’s too early to start wondering if the Astros’ good fortunes can continue for the rest of the season, but the Aggies definitely look like prime-time players. All the intangibles, except of course for home-field advantage, point toward A&M as the favorite to take the crown. They’re coming off a three-game demolition of Rice, the team that gave UT its only conference loss to date. Texas struggled to beat Tech three times this weekend by a total of four runs, and the vaunted Longhorn pitching staff gave up 22 runs. Granted, A&M played the Owls and Raiders at home and UT played them on the road. But also remember the Aggies left the winning run on base against Oklahoma State, the No. 1 team in the country, and the Horns lost to Oklahoma Period. You know, the Sooners. Basketball school. Also, although the rest of the conference does not have a representative over the .500 mark in conference, Texas does have the best team of them —Arkansas —still to go on its schedule, while A&M does not. UT is probably more likely than A&M to lose a game outside next weekend’s series. If the Longhorns don’t get two of the three, they’re probably out of it. It’s going to be exciting, that’s for sure. I hope you’ve already got your tickets for the series — UT sports information has announced that Saturday’s double-header is sold out already and Friday’s single game is sure to follow. If not, just pretend Jim Deshaies is really Kirk Dressendorfer tonight. If the Aggie bats stay alive tonight, it’s a good bet they’ll score more runs Friday and Saturday than their pitchers will give up. Sherrill wants grass, others prefer turf AUSTIN (AP) — Texas A&M Coach Jackie Sherrill, king of the mountain in Southwest Conference football, thinks replacing artificial turf with natural grass at Kyle Field would give the Aggies an extra edge. But other Southwest Conference schools, except for possibly South ern Methodist, appear reluctant to follow the lead of a coach whose teams have won three straight SWC football championships. “You look around the country at the toughest places to play — Loui siana State, Clemson, South Caro lina, Penn State — and there is an advantage to having grass,” Sherrill said. “It’s harder to go from turf to grass than from grass to turf.” Artificial turf for football has been common among SWC schools for nearly 20 years despite com plaints that the harder surface causes injuries. But a recent article in the NCAA News said injury rates may be higher on grass. The article was based on an NCAA study of 15 Division I-A foot ball teams during the 1987 season. “While the study does not claim to offer conclusive evidence, the infor mation does indicate that, if any thing, natural grass causes a higher overall rate of injury and a much higher rate of serious knee injuries, especially to defensive players,” the journal said. Artificial turf became the rage in the late 1960s and early 1970s as one school after another put down “rugs,” which were viewed as more convenient, attractive to high school prospects and, perhaps, safer than grass. SWC schools, according to athletic directors, coaches and sports infor mation directors, feel no decisive ev idence has been developed on whether grass or synthetic turf is safer. They say the cost — grass vs. turf — balances out after several years, and player preference ap pears mixed. “I have asked the NCAA which one is safer, and they keep coming back and saying, ‘Well, one year grass is, one year turf is,’ ” said Uni versity of Texas Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds. Rick Rivers, sports information director at Houston, said, “I person ally feel you can read the numbers any way you want to.” “Our trainer, who is not the big gest fan of turf, says injuries are the nature of the sport, whether you play on grass, turf or concrete,” Ar- dp /986 DELIVER THIS "HORN KILLER 17 OWL TO THE SIP AND TELLH/M WE'LL BE OVER TO SHOW H/fA A REAL “HORN KILLER" as soon as we dispose: OF THESE OTHER HOUSTON TEAMS L EVS S EE...TV AtS HOUSTON M0NC® a , and Texas southern on tubSm, AND THEN*-. HEY, fi'A/TAMim, ITS HOT THE' HOUSTON COUOARS ifi /ol itli MsfM6S7 Hal O' r /> kansas SID Rick Schaeffer said. Skip Cox, assistant athletic direc tor at Baylor, said development of proper shoes — flat bottoms with steel toe inserts — have dramatically reduced turf injuries. “We haven’t had a severe knee in jury in several years,” Cox said. Texas Tech SID Joe Hornaday re called that last year when Tech played at Florida State, Red Raider tight end Todd Ryden tore up his knee in warmups on grass. “The sur face ensures good footing for 11 games,” Hornaday said. “A bad day in the mud would slow down our offense, which is based on speed,” Rivers said. Texas Christian SID Glen Stone said, “In years past we’ve relied a lot on speed, and turf gives you an ad vantage. If you are totally a power team, you might go the grass route.” Dodds said with the Texas Relays, University Interscholastic League events “and all those other things be ing held at Memorial Stadium, you would be worried to death about grass. “There’s no stadium in America that gets more use than our stadium. We just open our gates,” Dodds said. “That field is open from 6 in the morning until probably midnight, and just whoever wants to goes in." Rice SID Bill Cousins said when high school players first run on arti ficial turf in college, it “makes them feel as if they’re flying and gives them great self-confidence, fhe) think, it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread.” Dodds said he thinks Texas play ers like grass better, and Schael ter at Arkansas said, “We play on glass once every two years, at Ole Miss, and the players love it. We also have a grass practice field, and the players enjoy that, too.” Sherrill said his own players pre fer artificial turf, and the reason is simple: “They don't slip." Nevertheless, when indt# tice facilities are completedJ probably within five years,i , ,ii pci h.iN worn ;;: J said he would ask A&M rtf restore grass to Kyle Field SMU, which played onil turf at Texas Stadium in.™ before its football program::] the so-called death penallyfri N C'. A A, also could move to {i Assistant SID Paul there has been talkofmonJ games to grass at OwnbvS on the Dallas campus, in if] very sketchy situation,"he® m ^McOonaJd's DRIVE-THRU WINDOW MCDONALD’S INTRAMURAL HIGHLIGHTS At University Drive Post Oak Mall Hwy 21 Texas and S.W. Parkway At Manor East Mall BREAKFAST EVERY MORNING JM10AMEPKN FOOTNOTES ENTRIES OPEN: MON, APR 18 ENTRIES CLOSE: TUE, APR 29 FRISBEE GOLF: ENTRY FEE: FREE!!! CONTEST DATE: Sat, Apr 30, 11 AM Meet at the ski slope. EQUIPMENT: Bring your own disk. DIVISIONS: Men’s and Women’s Singles Competition only. COURSE: Maps are available in the Intramural- Recreational Sports Office, 159 Read. FUN RUN: ENTRY FEE: FREE !!! CONTEST DATE: Sat, Apr 30, 9 AM. Meet in front of G. Rollie White. DIS TANCE: 3.1 miles (5K). COMPETI TION: All-University Champion T- shirts will be given to the Men’s and Women's Champions in the following age groups: 19 and under, 20-21, 22-23, 24-25, 26- 35, 36-45, 46-55, over 55. (Any one under 18 competing in this race must be a TAMU student.) All participants must complete the race in 45 minutes in order to be eligible for points and awards. Entrants must present a current student ID or recreation ID with Intramural validation on the day of the race. SIGN UP NOW FOR THE ROCK CLIMBING TRIP TO ENCHANTED ROCK STATE NATURAL AREA. /ALL ©iF]^iMllPQ®[N]S TAMU OUTDOORS Congratulations to the Champions in the following sports! TABLE TENNIS DOUBLES TENNIS DOUBLES FRESH WATER FISHING REGISTRATION: April 4-18. FEE: $25 ($27 for non A&M). DATE: April 22-24 at Martin Dies, Jr. State Recreation Area. LIMIT: 10 people. CLIMBING AT ENCHANTED ROCK STATE NATURAL AREA REGISTRATION: April 11 - 25. FEE: $30 ($35 non A&M affiliated). DATE: April 29 - May 1. LIMIT: 10 participants. REGISTRATION IS IN THE IM-REC SPORTS OFFICE, 159 READ. FOR MORE INFORMATION , CONTACT PATSY GREINER AT 845-7826. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: McDonald’s Intramural Highlights is spon sored in the Battalion by your local McDonald’s Restaurants at Univer sity Drive, Manor East Mall, Hwy 21, Texas Avenue and Post Oak Mall. Stories are written by P.J. Miller, graphics are by Paul Irwin and photos are by Mark Figart and Sarah Cowan. Intramural-Recreational Sports is a department in the Division of Student Services. •Sports Officials Association AnnualFj will be held on Friday, April 22 atl Park. Members should RSVPbyTuK April 19. •Volleyball Triples Playoffs will begiato'j Monday, April 18. Teams should schedules posted on the bullet! across from racquetball court#2. jjg •New rounds for Softball are postedonL th( nesdays. All teams should check the sflliu ule to see when they play. IfanyniSj softball is rained out, all teams sh the schedules as all games will bi •The Archery Tournament will be Tuesday, April 19 from 6-10PMin3Q SPORT CLUB NEWS -The Southwest Lacrosse Association Touram; be held on Saturday, April 23 and Sunday J Games will be at noon and 3 pm on Saturday* finals being held on Sunday at noon. -The Gymnastics Team will be hosting Gymnastics Conference State Champions!^ | day, April 23. Men’s and Women's compel® 1 ] from 11 am - 9 pm in 304 and 307 Read. ^ mo, She wil (l wht pur, MEN’S A: FAISEL AYESH MARZUKI DAHAM MEN'S A: MEN’S B: DEAN GOLDFINE SCOTT LIVINGSTONE MEN'S B: MEN'S C: HENRY PATLAN CHRIS RILEY MEN'S 0: WOMEN’S A: SANDRA JANSEN MYRNA VILLAREAL WOMEN'S B: WOMEN'S B: ANNE ORI MICHELLE MIGURA WOMEN'S C WOMEN'S C: KRISTA NELSON AMY HOWELL COREC B: COREC A: DEAN GOLDFINE LISA MURRAY COREC C: BRIAN LIVINGSTONE | TRENT NORRIS DALE CHRISTIAN FRANK ASHLEY DEREK GAUDLITZ, DAVID PATRICK DEWANNA BULLOCK MELISSA OSTERMAN KELLY CUSHION KRISTI ALGER DEAN WALKER JENNIFER REID CLARKE GAVER INTRAMURAL SPORTSCENltf DRIVING RANGE FRIDAY HAPPY HOUR BUY 1 LARGE BUCKETOF^ AND GET 1 SMALL BUCKET OF BALLS' FREE! GOOD ONLY ON FRI, APR 22,12N0( MUST PRESENT COUPON. CHECK HERE EACH WEEK FOR FRIDAYS^ )H WEEK FOR FRIDAYSPt- | on , and of s tenc con core bur :. A tant Co,, trati ha Vi tim, com 1 onK for ch<ji ram him the i V