"^The Battalion
ursday, December?, 1989
Sports Editor Richard Tijerina 845-2688
Alan
Lehmann
Sports Writer
ehmann: OU
Reserves NCAA
‘death penalty’
A football player is paid illegally, even
though his school is on probation and
iunder threat of the death penalty. A
gestionable source comes forward with
ic accusation, and then denies part of
his statement.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Well, don’t worry. It’s not George
Smith on the loose again. It’s not even a
luthwest Conference school under
Investigation this time.
No, the lucky school is Oklahoma,
hat’s right, the boys from Norman are
| at it again. Just when Sooner fans
Bought their worst nightmares were
behind them (and behind bars), a non-
jj^Bayer alledges that he was the middle
to (pan for payments to two Sooner
m Bayers.
ICfl Not that Otha Armstrong III did
lything wrong himself. He told the
'alias Morning News that he just picked
jup the cash from a Tulsa booster at a
(estern Union outlet and then
pelivered it to former Sooner
quarterbacks Charles Thompson and
jHpmelle Holieway.
I Armstrong first said that the
"ayments occurred after the Sooners
ad been placed on probation, but later
changed his original story and said the
ayments occured in 1988, while the
loners were under investigation.
(/ J| But don’t start weeping for the
—Boners yet, because NCAA doesn’t
Bern keenly interested at the moment.
B Why would they doubt Armstrong?
■ Well, he’s currently serving time in a
Texas prison for stealing 25
piampionship rings from former
pklahorna Coach Barry Switzer’s home.
Sounds like a biased point of view to me.
I The NCAA dropped the A&M
investigation after Smith called a press
conference to officially deny his
statements, and I think Armstrong will
do the same.
I Hey, let’s face it. Armstrong is in jail,
and so are a lot of the former Sooners.
With so many former Sooners doing
— 1 time for real crimes like selling cocaine,
^Bsault and rape, how long before they
start leaning on a guy who stole from
their coach?
I Can’t you just hear the conversation
around the cellblock:
I “Yo, man. You know that Armstrong
guy down in Block D?”
I “What’s he in for?”
I “Uh ... burglary, I think?”
| “No, man. I only hang out with real
criminals. Why, you want him iced?”
I “No, no, not yet. See, the deal is that
he ratted on the Sooners.”
I “What?!?”
I “That’s right — he said that Holieway
and Thompson were on the take.”
1 “Weren’t they?”
Even if Armstrong retracts his
tatement, the Sooners should get the
death penalty (the football program, not
the inmates).
Not only has Oklahoma flagrantly
iolated NCAA rules, but the slimy off-
the-field actions of its players prove that
Oklahoma isn’t safe for spectators.
| So, end this nonsense and give the
Sooner football program the death
penalty, before a Sooner player ends up
on death row.
SWC officiating needs a swift kick in butt
Season filled
with controversy
Analysis By Denne H. Freeman
Of The Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) — The Southwest Confer
ence needs to make a big change before
next football season in the way it assigns of
ficials to football games.
The way it is now, the SWC is putting the
men in stripes in some uncomfortable situa
tions.
For example, check the pressure-cooker
Ron Underwood found himself inside at
the championship game between his alma
mater, the University of Arkansas, and
Texas A&M University.
Arkansas is trailing but driving. It’s
fourth down. If the Aggies hold theyTl be
Cotton Bowl-bound. If the Hogs convert,
they are so deep in A&M territory they’ll
score for sure, and be headed to Dallas on
New Year’s Day.
Quinn Grovey passes and there is a tan
gle downfield. Underwood hesitates then
throws his flag, ruling interference on the
defensive back going over the top of the re
ceiver.
Automatic first down. Arkansas goes on
to win 23-22.
Instant replay shows Underwood, a for
mer Razorback wingback in the 1950s,
made the proper cajl.
But the question remains: Why should he
Photo by Jay Janner
Loyd Dale calms UT’s Ken Hackemack after a brawl in Saturday’s game.
Dale was involved in a controversy in the A&M-Texas Tech game Oct. 7.
have been put into such a "position?
How do you think his Little Rock insur
ance business would have prospered if he
hadn’t called a foul?
It’s obvious some Arkansas grads
wouldn’t be banging his doors down for
policy renewals.
For ages, the SWC has had a rule that if
you’ve been away from a conference school
10 years then you can referee, umpire, field
judge, back judge, or be the head linesman
in a game inyolving your alma mater.
How much sense does this make?
Is somebody supposed to be automat
ically detached from their school after 10
years?
It would seem quite the contrary. In 10
years, a lot of graduates are financially
more able to become closer to their univer
sity.
Of course, Texas A&M is hot to get the
rule changed.
There was an incident in their loss to
Texas Tech involving a fumble the Aggies
said they should have been allowed to keep.
The Aggies claimed a Texas Tech graduate
(Loyd Dale) was involved in the decision.
Ironically, there was another incident in
the A&M-Texas game when the Aggies
threw a touchdown pass on the last play of
the third quarter.
Texas claimed time ran out before the
ball was snapped. Field judge Jon Bible said
“no.” Bible went to the University of Texas.
Think about all the heat Bible hhs had
from fellow Longhorns.
The SWC needs to join the Southeastern
Conference in making a rule that no grad
uate can referee a game involving his
school. Period.
It would take some extra time figuring
out officials’ schedules. But it would be time
well spent, which could keep the SWC away
from any hint of scandal .
The SWC is definitely a conference that
doesn’t need another scandal.
Ags try to tame the Thundering Herd
By Jay Peden
Of The Battalion Staff
Photo by Scott D. Weaver
Tony Milton argues his point after being called for a foul in Tuesday’s
loss to Centenary. Milton will lead the Aggies tonight against Marshall.
The Marshall University men’s
basketball team visits G. Rollie White
Coliseum tonight at 7:30 to take on
Texas A&M.
Both teams are coming off losses.
Marshall’s Thundering Herd lost its
last game 74-56 at West Virginia,
leaving it with a 4-2 record.
Marshall is led by 6-2 junior guard
John Taft, who is scoring 24.4 points
per game.
The Aggies, 2-4, lost Tuesday
night to Centenary 89-82 despite ca
reer bests by senior point guard
Tony Milton and senior forward
Darren Rhea.
Milton dished out 10 assists
against Centenary, tying his career
high set last year against Stephen F.
Austin, and matched against South
ern Methodist.
Darren Rhea scored 18 points and
gathered 13 rebounds in the Cente
nary game, both career bests.
His previous highs were 14 points
last year against Simon Fraser and
11 rebounds against UT-Pan Ameri
can earlier this season.
A&M junior forward David Har
ris is leading the Southwest Confer
ence in blocked shots (3.6 per game)
and rebounds (11.0 per game). The
22 blocks he has recorded in 6 games
this year is barely short of the 25 that
Ray Little led the team with for all of
last season.
Aggie Coach Shelby Metcalf said
there will be some different faces in
the starting lineup tonight.
“I thought Darren Rhea, Brooks
Thompson, Lynn Suber and Tony
Milton played harder than anyone
else in the Centenary game, so they
will start against Marshall,” Metcalf
said.
Harris will round out the starting
five.
The game will be broadcast locally
on radio station KTAM (1240 AML
BYU lineman
Elewonibi wins
Outland Trophy
NEW YORK (AP) — Mohammed
“Moe” Elewonibi was minding his busi
ness, having a little fun booting a soccer
ball around on the campus of Snow Ju
nior College in Ephraim, Utah, when the
football coach wandered by, caught a
glimpse of him and led him away.
Two years later, the 6-foot-5, 290-
pounder found himself at Brigham
Young University and Wednesday he
was named winner of the Outland Tro
phy as the best college lineman in Amer
ica.
Elewonibi beat out Morris “Moe”
Gardner, junior nose tackle from Illinois
and Michael Tanks, seniwutcenter from
Florida State for the award presented by
the Football Writers Association of
America. He is BYU’s second Outland
winner in four years, following Jason
Buck of the Cincinnati Bengals, who
took the award in 1986.
Elewonibi, a native of Nigeria who
grew up in Kamloops, British Columbia,
never played high school football. “I was
small when I came to Canada,” he said.
“I wasn’t even tall enough to play basket
ball.”
Soccer was his game but when he got
to Snow JC, he found the sport limited
to club status. “There were guys from
the Middle East and Africa and we
played a little pickup soccer,” he said. “
But there were no other teams for us to
play. We/even played BYU once and lost
13-0.”
By then, though, he had grown large
enough to try other things. So he had no
hestitation about playing football. His
first game was less than a rousing suc
cess, however, with Snow losing, 41-7.
“I was emotional thinking about it,
thinking if I did this or that,” he said.
“I’m competitive by nature. I don’t like
to lose. I worked on my technique and
my footwork and by the end of the sea
son, I was as good as you can get in ju
nior college.”
t#j
44
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