Tuesday, April 26, 1988/The Battalion/Page 9
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Draft could be new beginning
for defeat-weary Cowboy fans
It’s only appropriate that my
last sports column of the semester
(I’m just as excited as you are) is
about the Dallas Cowboys.
Those
contro-
ver s i a 1
athletes
who sport
blue and
silver
have re-
ce n t 1 y
taken on
an either-
y o u
love’em-
or -you-
love -to-
hate’em
Curtis L.
Culberson
Sports viewpoint
tpu a 111 y
similar to J.R. Ewing, the fictional
quarterback of Big “D’s” business
world.
And like lovable/hateable J.R.,
theCowisoys don’t rule with the
iron hand they used to. In fact,
they are ruled most of the time.
Without that dynastic power,
both Mr. Ewing and friends and
Tom Landry and company are
starting to leave many Texans
disinterested.
Most readers would probably
say one of the following things
about the Pokes:
• I love the Cowboys — I was
pratically raised on them. Win or
lose they will always be my
favorite sports team. Give me
Dallas or give me a Schlitz!
• I used to like the Cowboys,
you know back when they had
Roger Staubach. But now the
Poke quarterbacks are weak,
Tony Dorsett has slowed down
because he dropped a mirror on
his toe, the All-Pro defense is now
the Old-Pro defense and Tom
Landry gets more senile with
every game.
• Ha Ha Ha, I hate the
Cowboys, always have. I love to
watch them lose. I bet against
them every game and those
arrogant *&%*%*$%$ always
manage to make me money. By
the time those guys get good
enough to win the Super Bowl
again, professional football will
he played with little bleeping blips
on a video screen.
• The Dallas Cowboys? They
have great cheerleaders.
• Dallas is a good team, they
might even beat the Lakers.
If you fit into the last category
I suggest you start over before
going any further,
I fit into the Cowboys or bad
beer category and happily end
my stint as a Battalion sports
columnist with some good/bad
news about the Pokes, depending
upon what category you fit into.
As I said before, the 1988-89
National Football League season
starts with the draft. And the
Cowboys came out with their
heads far above the water in the
season’s first competition.
Irvin, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound
wide reciever may be the
Cowboys’ best No. 1 draft pick of
the 80s. He is fast enough to be a
deep threat and and big enough
to downfield block for Herschel
Walker. And from early
indications he isn’t going to prove
to be a contract headache like last
year’s first rounder Danny
Noonan.
Unlike the days of old, Landry
didn’t seem to be preoccupied
with filling a position or reaching
for a long shot. Norton, a UCLA
linebacker, was simply the best
athlete available.
Some might argue the
Cowboys don’t need help at
linebacker; I would argue they
need help everywhere. Besides, if
he doesn’t work out at the
linebacker spot he could always
spar with Ed “Too TaH”Jones in
practice. Norton will definitely
make an aging defense tougher.
Irvin also will bring back some
personality back to the Cowboys.
He’s called a hot dog — I call him
a winner. He was a big part of the
University of Miami national
championship team. It’s long past
due that a Cowboy stuck the ball
in a defender’s face while
prancing into the end zone or
slapped a high five with a
hysterical fan.
The Cowboys may not win
Super Bowl XXIII but I’d say
they’re on their way back.
Oh, for those of you who still
think the Cowboys play
basketball, your right. Catch
them in action against selected
Aggie athletes in G. Rollie White
Saturday.
Irvin should help
Cowboys’ depleted
wide receiver corps
Four Aggies go in annual pro football draft
From Staff and Wire Reports
NFL coaches continued to pick
sparingly from Southwest Confer
ence players Monday as the 1988
draft moved into the 11th round.
A total of 13 SWC players had
been selected to play on NFL teams
by late Monday afternoon.
For only the third time in SWC
bistory, there was no SWC player
taken in the first round of the di aft.
The only other years in which no
SWC player was taken in the first
round was 1971 and 1974.
Four Texas A&M players were
drafted in all — running back Keith
Woodside, tackle Louis Cheek and
safeties Kip Corrington and Chet
Brooks.
Woodside was taken by Green Bay
in Sunday’s third round, Cheek went
in the eighth to the Miami Dolphins,
Corrington the ninth to the Detroit
Lions, and Brooks in the 11th to the
San Francisco 49ers.
L^st year, all but one of the A&M
players drafted made a team.
Like last year, former A&M quar
terback Kevin Murray, who decided
to forego his senior year of college in
favor of the pro draft, was passed
over.
In all of Sunday’s five rounds, the
league contributed only three play
ers to the draft — Texas Christian
running back Tony Jeffery in the
second round, Woodside in the third
round, and Texas Tech defensive
back Eric Everett in the fifth round.
In Monday’s six rounds of picks,
10 more SWC players were added to
the NFL ranks.
They include: Texas offensive
guard Paul Jetton, Texas Tech de
fensive back Lemuel Stinson, Texas
defensive back John Hagy, Cheek,
Corrington and Brooks.
Others included TCU linebacker
David Spradlin, TCU defensive back
John Booty, Texas Tech nose tackle
Artis Jackson, and Baylor offensive
guard Joel Porter.
The Phoenix Cardinals drafted
Jeffery and the Philadelphia Eagles
selected Everett.
Jeffery led the SWC in rushing
with 1,353 yards in 1987 despite be
ing suspended for his final game be
cause he signed a contract with an
agent.
IRVING (AP) — Tex Schramm
looked like a man who had just hit a
Las Vegasjackpot.
His Dallas Cowboys had been
lucky enough to compensate for one
of the worst pieces of bad luck in
their history.
The broken leg suffered by wide
receiver Mike Sherrard, their 1986
first-round pick, in training camp
last summer caused Coach Tom
Landry to junk some of his offensive
plans.
Then Sherrard re-broke the leg
again last month while jogging in
California.
On Sunday, the Cowboys sweated
out Mike Irvin, a fast, tall, extremely
competitive wide receiver for Miami,
the nation’s collegiate national
champions.
They got him as the 11th pick of
the first round of the NFL draft and
club president Schramm said,
“We’re delighted beyond words.”
“We were lucky and I hope it sig
nals a turnaround in our fortunes,”
said Schramm. “We got a player of
the same quality as Sherrard and last
year’s pick, Danny Noonan.
“This should accelerate our re
turn to the living.”
The Cowboys have missed the
NFL playoffs for two consecutive
years.
Irvin has the size and speed to get
away from bump-and-run coverage.
He has what the experts call “separa
tion speed,” or the ability to put dis
tance between himself and a de
fender while the ball is in the air.
He is 6-foot-2, and runs a legiti
mate 4.5 in the 40. Irvin also isn’t shy
about going over the middle.
Irvin will command double-cover
age respect which should keep teams
from ganging up on running back
Herschel Walker by jamming the
line of scrimmage.
“It should help our running game
considerably,” said Landry. “Irvin
should be good enough to force the
defense to pay attention and get off
Herschel.”
See related stories, page 10
Irvin’s main drawback, that of a
hot dog image, could work in Dallas’
favor.
“Mike is an exciting player,” said
Gil Brandt, director of player per
sonnel. “He’ll excite the fans and he
will excite the other players and he
will excite our organization.”
Irvin said all the correct things
when questioned by the Dallas me
dia.
He said he liked playing for a
team with a star on the helmet.
That’s what he wants to be, a star.
“I’m a hard worker and I’m not
spoiled,” said the 15th of 17 chil
dren. “I have a lot of discipline in my
life. I grew up in a family where if
dinner was six you got there at 5:45.
“If you missed the time for dinner
you had to wait until 7 o’clock the
next morning.”
Dallas’ second draft pick is inter
esting, Ken Norton Jr., son of a for
mer heavyweight champion.
Norton Jr. played inside line
backer for UCLA.
Landry likes his speed and will try
him on the outside.
Dallas doesn’t have to worry about
him going into boxing.
“I don’t like getting my head beat
up on,” Norton said.
And by drafting offensive line
men Dave Widell of Boston College
and Mark Hutson of Oklahoma,
Landry sent a message to 360-pound
Nate Newton: Lose some weight,
Nate.
“It might alert him,” Landry said.
Draft expert Mel Kiper called
Widell “one of the big steals” in the
NFL draft.
“Widell has great size and mobil
ity,” Kiper said. “He’s a tremendous
worker and competitor.”
The Cowboys needed competitors
and they got some.
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*rMSC
Wiley Lecture Series
Thought provoking
panel discussion
with leaders
of global scope
on an issue
of importance
to our generation...
and generations
to come.
The Rt. Hon.
Lord Callaghan
Former British Prime Minister
weeks,
by ‘he
[onica,
3 eden,
an X-
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"It’s a
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se the
bank
NUCLEAR WAR:
Thinking the Unthinkable
April 26, 8:00 Rudder Auditorium
Tickets on sale now
at the Rudder Box Office 845-1