Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 1990)
3( J.199o m 135 9at 6:30 7 P-m. in DPE at •in 105 ®t meet- "i. in the sment in 'I at 845- n. in 102 tademic CDPEai m 223B IES: will /Tower for '90- ar more n stone n Clara iforma- tonaM, jublish Up is ire run If you s fan, the million day. perceni >r more e going r being ause of nounce- of pol- v Satur- agency, nmittee rin said percent ral gas. o effect :iiia was nt. woman of the il legis- a plant ?t clear jced at the So- >uld he off all f many aterials a make * decla- n strict about month Tie bus I, have e e lie Battalion SPORTS Nonday, April 30,1990 9 Sports Editor Nadja Sabawala 845-2688 Clay Rasmussen Assistant Sports Editor McMahon not worth all the antics nor talk Bad boys and whining, sleazy agents. Draft time’s over and now it’s time to signal! that fresh, new incoming talent that your scouts said would save your team and catapult it to the top of the NFL and Super Bowl appearance within five years. No problems, no worries. This year’s draft saw an influx of juniors enter the NFL and get their cut of the big-time contracts. Multi-million contracts seem to be in style lately, but I’m not here to protest the salaries of untested rookies. My gripe stems from the way these athletes enter the NFL and expect those in the league and those that must deal with them to drop to our knees, sing praises and treat them as if they were some sort of god. Case in point: Jim McMahon. In 1982, McMahon was the first round draft choice of the Chicago Bears. McMahon started for Brigham Young for two years, leading the Cougars to a 22-3 record and two Western Athletic Conference titles. His stats with the Chicago Bears were as impressive. From 1984 to 1988, McMahon blazed through the NFL. Chicago arose from the ruins of the seventies and began a domination of the National Football Conference that the Bears hadn’t known since the sixties. Chicago was 35-3 in games that McMahon started. That includes the 46- 10 victory over the New England Patriots in the 1986 Super Bowl. Then the bottom fell out for McMahon. The beginning of the end The Bears released him to San Diego last August. With the Chargers, his career was bitter. McMahon started 1 1 games with San Diego before being benched in favor of former Texas Tech quarterback Billy Joe Toliver. Many who look at McMahon as the savior of the Chicago Bears will criticize my stance, and point to numerous injuries as the reason for his lack-luster performance in his later years with the Bears and his season with the Chargers. Injuries might have been part of the reason, but I believe his attitude had a lot to do with his problems. McMahon was always a showboat, and as long as he was winning. Bears coach Mike Ditka put up with the quarterback’s antics. But McMahon had trouble convincing Ditka to tolerate his childish pranks and fits. The Bears found a replacement and they also found McMahon a new home ... on the west coast. You think he would’ve learned. McMahon went to the Chargers, sporting the same attitude and cockiness that he had worn in Chicago. And like his last days with the Bears, McMahon couldn’t post the types of numbers that would make the front office plead with head coaches to give a little leeway. McMahon never gained the following in San Diego that he had in his early days with the Bears. “Give us proof,” you cry? Always carry a tissue Okay, how about the story of McMahon being blasted by the local media after he blew his nose on a reporter last October. After McMahon was asked by management to apologize to the reporter, he refused, commenting later that “it was either sneeze on him or beat the @*! + ★ out of him, but you can’t get sued for sneezing.” Class act. And like the Bears, the Chargers refuse to pay the big dollars to a childish, immature quarterback like McMahon. San Diego released McMahon last week, stating that they weren’t interested in a contract dispute. 1 guess that’s a good enough excuse to give, especially if you have the like of Toliver in the wings. My only regret is that they picked him up in the first place, or maybe it’s that they picked him up at all. McMahon isn’t an isolated case. Everyone has heard of the Deon Sanders, Everson Walls and even a whiney Pro- Bowl back named Tony Dorsett. My only remaining hope is that the NFL institutes a salary cap. Maybe by denying multi-million dollar contracts to 21 and 22 year old spoiled athletes will also put a cap on poor attitudes. Coogs down Ags in weekend series Houston sweep causes problems for tourney spot By Scott Wudel Of The Battalion Staff It had been three years since anyone had swept a series from the Texas A&M base ball team. This weekend, however, the Houston Cougars came to Olsen Field fighting for a spot in the Southwest Conference Tourna- SWC Standings T»«ni Arkansas <43-9; Texas <43-14) Houston (40-19) Texas A&M (42-1S) Rice (30-21) Baylor (32-19) Texas Tech (31 -26) TCU (26-28) Friday's Results Arkansas 13, Texas 11, Houston 1, Texas A&M 0; New Mex ico St. 8-1, Texas Tech 0-7; Baylor at TCU ppd., rain Saturday’s Results Baylor 4-5, TCU 2-4; Texas 4-5, Arkansas 3-6; Houston 4-4, Tsxas A&M 3-2; Texas Tech 7-3, New Mexico St 6-6 SWC Record 14-4 13-4 12-9 10-8 8-9 8-12 5-13 3-14 ment. They left with three wins and im proved their SWC record to 12-9, 40-9 overall. The Aggies fell to a 10-8 confer ence record and moved to 42-15 overall. As a result, the Cougars moved into third place in the conference on percentage points. The Arkansas Razorbacks were the last team to sweep the Aggies, taking a three- game series at Olsen Field in 1987. A&M travels to Arkansas for a series beginning Friday night at Cole Field in Fayetteville. Houston robbed A&M in the double- header Saturday, squeaking out a 4-3 vic tory in the opener and a 4-2 victory in 10 in nings in the nightcap in front of a crowd of 4,373. Friday night the Aggies were shutout 1-0. A&M batters struggled with Houston pitchers all weekend, manufacturing a total of 12 hits in the three games. The Aggie de fense kept each game close but could not make up for the lack of offensive fire power. Coach Mark Johnson was disappointed in the team’s offensive performance. “We didn’t hit the ball well, and that cost us the series,” Johnson said. “I thought we pitched the ball well enough to win ball games. “We didn’t get it done and that was a real backbreaker for us.” The Aggies are the worst hitting team in the SWC and will have to regroup in time for the Arkansas series — needing a combi nation of A&M wins and Rice losses totaling two to assure a berth in the conference tournament. “We’re really going to have to pull it to gether and see what kind of team we are,” said Aggie second baseman Trey Witte. “We’re not playing aggressive baseball right now, we’re not putting any pressure on the other team, we’re putting it all on ourselves,” he said. “Not hitting the ball is Photo by Scott D. Weaver A&M third baseman Travis Williams attempts to tag out Hous- during the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. The Cou- ton outfielder Derrik Dietrich after he tried to steal third base gars went on to win the game 4-3 and sweep the series. the key to that.” A&M’s hopes of escaping Olsen Field .with one victory ended in the 10th inning Saturday night. In the top of the inning, Cougar second baseman Russell Stockton walked following a double by Ricky Torres off relief pitcher Bo Siberz. Torres moved to third on a sacri fice and Stockton stole second base, elimi nating the Aggies hopes for a double play. A Houston groundball slipped by short stop Jason Marshall for an error that al lowed Torres to score the go-ahead run. The Cougars added another run in the in ning on James Wambach’s fielder’s choice grounder to put the Aggies down two runs in their last at bat. Houston reliever A1 Benavides retired the last three A&M batters to record the win while Siberz (2-2) took the loss. The Aggies had tied the game earlier in the eighth when pinch runner Cornelius Patterson scored from second base on a Brian Thomas one-out single. Patterson was pinch-running for Sean Drinkwater, who reached base on an infield single. A&M got on the scoreboard first in the game when Witte scored from third on catcher John Wood’s ground ball to the third baseman with one out in the second inning. Marshall also attempted to score from second base on Blake Pyle’s left field single but was called out at homeplate to end the inning. Houston tallied its first two runs in the sixth inning. With two men out, Keith Darter doubled down the right field line to score the runner from first. Wambach fol lowed with a single down the right field line to bring home Darter and give the the Cou gars a 2-1 lead. Aggie pitcher Rich Robertson took his 9- 1 record to the mound in the Saturday’s opener, needing 13 strikeouts to eclipse the school record of 109 in one season. Rob ertson struck out two Houston batters be fore being relieved in the sixth intiing. The Aggies got the day started with three runs in the first four innings. A&M was sparked in the top of the first inning after Houston’s Wambach knocked down first baseman Pyle, who was attempt ing to field a fly ball on the first base line. The Aggies came back and scored their first run on a wild pitch from Houston’s Ben Weber, bringing Pyle across the plate. With two outs in the A&M second, Mar shall reached base on a Houston error. Wood then slammed a double to the warn ing track in left centerfield, scoring Mar shall from first. Wood got his second RBI of the game in the fourth inning when he singled past the Houston shortstop, giving Witte the oppor tunity to score from second base. The Cougars, down 3-1, came back in the fifth on a Hinojosa double and a single by pinch-hitter Pete Padia with no outs. Robertson fielded a Houston bunt, but then threw to an unexpecting Wood at home plate, who watched the ball sail past him and into the backstop. One Cougar scored as two others ad vanced to second and third. The Aggies es caped the inning on two Houston ground ers and a fly ball caught in foul territory by left fielder Brian Thomas. Robertson left the game with one out in the sixth inning after giving up two walks. Reliever Kerry Freudenberg finished the inning for A&M. Marshall’s defensive gem saved runs and ended the inning for the Aggies. He leaped and caught a hard line-drive that was headed for centerfield. Third-game pitcher Pat Sweet relieved Freudenberg in the seventh and final in ning following a Houston lead-off double. But Sweet could do no better, giving up a single and a triple down the right field line, bringing the tying and winning runs across See Game/Page 11 A&I football coach to discipline players who use drugs KINGSVILLE (AP) —Texas A&I president Manuel Ibanez said football coach Ron Harms has been ordered to discipline those players arrested on drug charges. In a two-page statement issued after two football players and another A&I student were arrested on cocaine-dealing charges over the weekend, Ibanez said he has formed a fact-finding com mittee. “We want to look at the athletic program,” Ibanez said. “In addition, we want to look at our drug policy. We don’t want to get complacent. We’re not going to condone this.” Ibanez said the group will consist of Harms, some members of the Athletic Council, and other faculty and staff. Ibanez also criticized the Kleberg County Sheriffs Depart ment for not involving A&I in its investigation of alleged drug ac tivities among athletes. Kleberg County Sheriff Adan Munoz said he kept the investigation, dubbed “Operation Play Ball,” secret for safety reasons. District Attorney Grant Jones said Saturday his office is ex pected to take the three felony cases to the Kleberg County grand jury Thursday. On Saturday, A&I student and former West Oso High School athletic star Rocky Runnels, 19, turned himself in to authorities after learning a warrant for his arrest had been issued Friday. He joined star defensive end Johnny Eaton and defensive back Ray Anthony Fields in the Kleberg County Jail. All have been charged with delivery of cocaine, a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison. Kiethen DeGrate, a 23-year-old junior guard, was arrested Friday in a raid by sheriffs deputies at two off-campus apart ments. He was released after posting $200 bond on a misdemea nor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. A warrant also was issued for the arrest of former A&I de fensive lineman Dyas Evans, who reportedly is in Galveston. Runnels is charged with three counts of delivery of cocaine and has failed to post $75,000 bail set by Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Carlos Torres. Eaton, 22, and Fields, 21, are charged with two counts each of cocaine-dealing and are under $50,000 bail each. Evans is charged on one count of delivery of cocaine. “By no means have we stopped the investigation,” Munoz said. “Whether any more football players are involved, I’m not at liberty to discuss.” Ibanez said he’s convinced that a small portion of the football team may be involved. “I do know a lot of the kids, and they’re good kids,” he told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Since April 1, when linebacker Sean Banks, 21, was arrested in Wharton on cocaine-possession charges, five current or former players have been arrested or charged on drug-related charges. Munoz has declined comment on whether Banks’ arrest was con nected with the Kingsville investigation. The sherifFs department said it videotaped and tape-re corded drug buys as part of its four-month undercover opera tion. According to arrest warrants, undercover agents purchased crack cocaine from Eaton, Evans, Fields and Runnels. Each of the crack-cocaine purchases involved $20 to $50 per rock, officials said. Harms, A&I’s head football coach since 1979, did not answer phone calls to his residence on Saturday. Harms is scheduled to attend the Lone Star Conference spring meetings in Dallas through Monday. Ibanez has asked Harms, who is also A&I’s athletic director, to report details of the arrests to the National Collegiate Athletic As sociation. “We’re not trying to hide anything,” Ibanez said. Texas A&I Sports Information Director Fred Nuesch said athletic department policy requires that any athlete who breaks an athletic rule be placed on suspension, pending an investigation. Aggressive play by Caminiti, Yelding, hoists Astros over Mets 2 -1 in pitching standoff HOUSTON (AP) — Eric Yelding did his job. Then Ken Caminiti did his — with a little luck from the New York Mets outfield. Caminiti singled in Yelding, who had reached on an infield hit, stolen second and gone to third on an error with two outs in the 10th inning Sunday to give Houston a 2-1 win over the Mets in a game in which Cy Young Award winners Dwight Gooden and Mike Scott pitched to a standoff. “I didn’t hit the ball all that well, I thought I was going to be out,” Caminiti said. “I don’t know if he could have dived and caught it. I’m just happy with the re sults.” With one out in the tenth, Yelding beat out an infield hit to shortstop Howard Johnson off Julio Machado (2-1). One out later, he stole second and went to third base when catcher Mackey Sasser threw' the ball into centerfield. “That’s my job, to be aggessive and get around the bases,” Yelding said. “Lately, things have been falling in.” Machado then walked Glenn Davis inten tionally and hit pinch-hitter David Rohde, before Caminiti’s third hit of the game, which made a winner of Danny Darwin (1- °). “He got a bad jump on the ball,” Mets manager Davey Johnson said of Straw berry. “If the dive would have caught it I wish he would have dived. Usually you don’t dive unless you have a chance to catch it.” Strawberry thought he had a good jump but the ball was well placed. “I didn’t get a bad jump, I gave it my best,” Strawberry said. “I thought I had a good shot at it but it kept doing down. I was running full speed. It’s a tough play to make a dive on. “He just put it in the right spot. Any where else, I would have caught it.” Spurs struggle two-game lead • SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The San :: Antonio Spurs got what they wanted — a two-game lead over the Denver Nuggets in their Western Conference playoff $e- :;i ries. But if the Spurs’ struggling 129-120 victory Saturday is a preview of things to come, then they may not have an easy time sxveeping the Nuggets out of the be nice to end this as soon as possible,” Spurs center David Robinson said. “But it won’t he easy.” Game 3 of the best-of-5 series is sei for Tuesday at McNichols Arena. Robinson, the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, led the Spurs with 31 points and 12 rebounds in Game 2. Willie Anderson added 25 and Terry Cummings 21. The game remained close throughout the fourth quarter, ami the Nuggets closed to 120-117 with 73 seconds left. But three San Antonio field goals put the game out of reach. “I can’t emphasize enough that Denver played great,” San Antonio coach Larry Brown said. “That was a I:tough win.” Fat Lever, who fed the Nuggets with 26 points and 16 rebounds, said the Nuggets will be ready for Game 3. “When you are down 0-2, no one wants to be swept.” Lever said. ”1 think we have enough character to step up and really compete.” Denver coach Doug Mae said de- : fensive rebounds have to improve for the Nuggets to have chance to extend the series. “From the standpoint of everybody, we don’t have a chance in this series,” Moe said. “But we are c apable of beating them at home.” San Antonio lost 126*99 to the Nug gets in January in Denver, hut nine days ago snapped at 10-game losing streak at McNichols with a 112-108 victory. The Spurs won three of the four regular-sea son games the teams played this year, It would