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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 1988)
Friday, August 12, 1988/The Battalion/Page 5 Sports U.S. facing uphill battle in gymnastics The Associated Press Was it only four years ago that Mary Lou Retton vaulted her way to an Olympic All-Around gold medal, the highest award ever achieved by an American woman gymnast? Are we only four summers re moved from Bart Conners’ tears and the night in Pauley Pavillion when the U.S. men’s team captured the gold over the favored Chinese? Could so much have changed so quickly within a gymnastics commu nity that after 1984 was certain it had liberated itself from the shad ows of the Communist bloc’s su premacy in the sport? The answer is an unquestionable yes. On the threshold of the 1988 Games in Seoul, it would be difficult to find an amateur organization en gulfed in more turmoil, controversy and in-fighting than the United States Gymnastics Federation. And it is within that atmosphere the U.S. teams have had to prepare EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Wayne Gretzky has an ego “the size of Manhattan” and faked his tearful departure from the Edmonton Oil ers, team owner Peter Pocklington said. However, Pocklington issued a brief statement Thursday saying the comments, which appeared in the Edmonton Journal, “were taken to tally out of context.” Speculation over why Gretzky, the greatest hockey player of the mod ern era, was traded to the Los An geles Kings for more than $10 mil lion has thrust Pocklington into a spotlight he is not enjoying. The 46-year-old businessman was quoted in Wednesday’s Journal as saying Gretzky’s ego was “the size of Manhattan.” Then he added: “I un derstand that, though. If people had told me how great I was day-in and day-out for 10 years, I’m sure my ego would be a pretty generous size, too.” Pocklington also was quoted as saying Gretzky faked his tears at an to challenge the powerful men’s teams from the Soviet Union, China and East Germany and the world champion wopien’s squad from Ro mania and the equally talented Sovi ets. The Soviet Union, led by two-time world champion Dimitri Bilozerchev and floor exercise specialist Valeri Lyukin, should reclaim the men’s team gold medal it abdicated four years ago with the country’s boycott of the Games. Bilozerchev, who in 1983 at the age of 16 became the youngest world champion in history, has fully recov ered from a near-fatal automobile accident in 1985 that left his left leg broken in 40 places. He led a Soviet sweep of the all-around men’s com petition last October in Rotterdam. The Chinese, with Li Ning and Lou Yun, both individual event gold medalists in the Los Angeles games, are considered the top challengers to the Soviets. That would leave East Germany, another of the boycotting Los Angeles | emotional news conference an nouncing the trade. “He’s a great actor,” Pocklington said. “I thought he pulled it off beautifully when he showed how up set he was. I think he was upset, but he wants the big dream.” Pocklington said he stands by ev erything he and Gretzky said at the news conference on Tuesday. At that time, Pocklington was practi cally crying and said he thought of Gretzky as a son. “The public display of emotion which you saw that day immediately followed an equally private emo tional farewell between Wayne, Glen countries four years ago, Bulgaria, Japan and the U.S. to battle for the bronze. The U.S. will make a bit of history when Charles Lakes of Chatsworth, Calif., takes the floor in Seoul. He will be the first black gymnast to compete for the United States in the Olympics. Lakes was the top qual ifier on the American team, and along with 1984 team member Scott Johnson, will head a relatively inex perienced U.S. team. Dan Hayden, the national cham pion, failed to qualify for the squad after falling twice from the horizon tal bar at this month’s Olympic Tri als in Salt Lake City. Despite the absence of Hayden, American Coach Abie Grossfeld re mains confident the men can win at a bronze medal. “We have some youngsters (Lance Ringnald and Dominick Minicucci) who are not afraid to take chances,” said Grossfeld. Sather and me,” the statement said. Sather is president, general manager and head coach of the Oilers. The National Hockey League trade has raised questions over the financial health of Pocklington’s food-processing empire, which in cludes such companies as Palm Dai ries and Gainers Inc. Few Edmonton fans believe the deal was anything but a business transaction, although Gretzky insists he asked for the trade. Three of Gretzky’s former Oiler teammates — Ed Mio, Dave Lumley and Paul Coffey — also have said they doubted Gretzky asked for the swap. The Journal quoted Pocklington as saying the trade had nothing to do with Gretzky’s recent marriage to ac tress Janet Jones, who is expecting the couple’s first child. Pocklington said Gretzky believes he can revive hockey in the United States or make “If they hit their routines, it will help the team a great deal.” Other individuals to watch in the men’s competition include Sylvio Kroll of East Germany and Zsolt Borkai of Hungary Romania and the Soviet Union will resume their battle for suprem acy in the women’s competition. The Romanians, led by world champion Aurelia Dobre and Daniela Silivas, are the defending Olympic champs. Romania upset the Soviet Union at the World Championships last year as Dobre won the All-Around title and Silivas finished third. The Soviet Union, which will be meeting the U.S. in Olympic compe tition for the first time in 12 years, will send to Seoul a veteran women’s team expected to include former world champion Elena Shushunova, 19, who finished second to Dobre at the World Championships. it a sport to be watched by millions more people. The New York Daily News on Thursday quoted an unnamed source as saying Gretzky wanted out of Edmonton. “He couldn’t trust Sather,” the source was quoted as saying. “Wayne came to despise Pockling ton for the way he and Sather treated players,” the source said. Oksana Omelianchik, who shared the 1985 world title with her best friend Shushunova, did not place among the top six in the USSR Cup competition this month, falling twice from the uneven bars. However, since the Soviet Union can select its Olympians on the basis of past per formances and is not bound by the results of the USSR Cup, Omelian chik is expected to be on the squad. The Soviets also have a trio of im pressive young gymnasts in Natalia Lashenova, 14, Olga Strazheva, 15, and Svetlana Boginskaya, 15. The United States women’s team, an entire new cast from the 1984 squad that finished second to Roma nia, also is very young. National champion Phoebe Mills, Brandy Johnson and Chelle Stack all are 15. The three are trained by Bela Ka- rolyi, a central figure in the coun try’s recent gymnastics turmoil. The resignation of women’s team Coach Don Peters two days after the team was selected at the Olympic tri als in Salt Lake City is indicative of the USGF’s problems during the past year. The thorns have ranged from for mer women’s Coach Greg Marsden admitting he conspired with a Ro manian coach to fix scores at the 1987 World Championships in Rot terdam to a U.S. Justice Department review of the federation’s financial records. Mixed in has been an ongoing power struggle that led to the resig nations of Marsden and Peters, and a rift between the federation and Karolyi, the man who coached Ret ton to the All-Around title in 1984. Unable to resolve the coaching sit uation with one individual in con trol, the United States Gymnastics Federation has decided to tag-team the Olympics. Federation Executive Director Mike Jacki announced after Peters’ resignation that Karolyi and the three other coaches whose stu dents made the team would alter nate coaching duties in Seoul. Owner says Gretzky egotistical faker Sherrard shuns shin operation for leg rehab THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Dallas Cowboys receiver Mike Sherrard has decided not to have further surgery to his right leg, a move that could jeopardize his chances of ever playing for the Cow boys, team president Tex Schramm said Wednesday. The Cowboys had advised Sher rard to have a metal rod inserted in the cavity of the shin bone, to help strengthen the rehabilitating leg. But Sherrard, following the ad vice of his personal physician, Dr. Bert Mandelbaum, will try to mend the leg without the rod. Schramm said that means Sher- rard’s chances of ever playing in a Cowboys uniform are low. “I’m just saying that the odds don’t look good without the opera tion,” he said. “Simply, our doctors feel that his chance of the leg recovering with sufficient strength to play football is minimal, without the operation. “And that’s not to say there would be any guarantee, medically. But as far as the possibilities are concerned, it is of our opinion that they would be much greater (with the surgery).” Sherrard — who will pay for his own rehabilitation costs — was un available for comment. Sherrard, the Cowboys’ No. 1 draft pick in 1986, originally broke the leg August 5, 1987, during a joint training camp practice session with the San Diego Chargers. By kicking himself while running a pat tern, Sherrard suffered a compound fracture of both bones in the leg. He refractured the leg in March while jogging on a Los Angeles-area beach. The second break involved only the tibia, the large, weight-bear ing bone in the leg. Schramm said the Cowboys have the option of releasing Sherrard, who would be paid $65,000 as di rected in the league’s injury protec tion benefits package. Sherrard is on the physically-unable-to-perform list. 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IBM, Personal Systcm/2, and PS/2 are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation, 1988. Reach 60,000 readers per day The Battalion It's free and it's distributed on and off campus 845-2697 Back To School Deadlines Begin July 29