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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 2, 1990)
.The Battalion JSPORTS 7 -^Wednesday, May 2,1990 Sports Editor Nadja Sabawala 845-2688 h Scott Wudel Sports Writer ns. 0r ; of ik Spurs fans loyal through the good, the bad and the ugly nethir ikerj t vvoul; want n amoc; iy. Hil tting: st, ac- vemem i l mi- lemon- art vcntes such a hat rci Wi ad es th; .t is said that life is full of many highs and lows, ups and downs, peaks id troughs ... the list goes on. Yet we re blessed with the ability to deal with icse changes and wait patiently for the highs to come along after so many lows. Such is the case in the ever-so-popular ivorld of sports. We all have our favorite ;am and as loyal fans, we’ve watched it |hange for better or worse over the years. I At one time, our favorite team was at the rock-bottom of its league, but we yent to the games or watched them on TV anyway. After all, the ticket lines yvere short and the aggravation we sustained watching the helpless band of gluttons self-destruct somehow gave us a release from our own problems. Besides, better days and a pool of first- round draft choices were ahead of us. 1 Then one season the long wait is over. A team of new faces takes the field or ourt and suddenly things are coming up oses. As loyal fans we marvel at each uchdown pass, are dazed by each slam dunk, and rejoice with each home run. e see crazy fans paint their faces team olors. The stadium wave actually becomes un, while the “Hey-hey” song vibrates e walls of the arena. Our team is jabeled “the Cinderella story of the league.” The only problem is we can’t get tickets to the game anymore. | Case in point — the San Antonio Ipurs. I Many San Antonians remember the days when the Spurs were fighting for division and conference titles. That was Over seven years ago and the team leemed the falter more every year since. Spurs’ fans witnessed the performance if sub-par players, scoffed at team trades, coaching changes, and even pleaded for divine intervention. All in a day’s work for faithful fans. Now it is exhilirating to see a team m around the way the Spurs have, hey improved 35 games this season on the shoulders of one Navy ensign and a fleet of young faces, not to mention a |ity full of ecstatic Spurs’ fans now eaping the rewards of a long wait. After the Spurs captured the Midwest ivision title in the final game of the eason, nearly every one of the 16,000 ans present stood at their seats after the inal buzzer and cheered fanatically for 0 minutes. They chanted the players’ ames, stomped their feet, and elebrated the reality of the event until e champagne-soaked players returned ee Wudel/Page 8 A&M reassigns Metcalf Battalion file photo by M. Mulvey Former A&M basketball coach Shelby Metcalf was reassigned to head up an outreach program in East and Central Texas for at-risk young people. From Staff and Wire Reports It’s taken a little more than three months, but former Texas A&M basketball coach Shelby Metcalf has been reassigned, the University announced Tuesday. Metcalf, who was removed as coach by Athletic Director John David Crow in Jan uary, accepted President William H. Mob ley’s invitation to assume responsibilities for developing an outreach program in East and Central Texas for at-risk young people. Metcalfs title is senior representative for University relations, a position that will be affiliated with the Office of School Rela tions. “I appreciate the confidence that Dr. Mobley is demonstrating in me by giving me this opportunity to serve the University that I love, and to continue my association with young people,” Metcalf said. The outreach program was created two years ago in cooperation with the Univer sity of Texas to establish minority-oriented outreach centers in key metropolitan areas of the state. The program has centers in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and McAllen, and others are scheduled to open soon in Cor pus Christi and Austin. A&M’s portions of the program are run by the Office of School Relations. “With Dr. Metcalfs help, we will now ex pand A&M’s outreach efforts into an area not covered by our cooperative program, but one that certainly deserves our atten tion,” Mobley said. Mobley announced the appointment af ter several sessions in which he, other mem bers of the University staff and Metcalf ex plored ways in which the former Aggie coach could continue to provide service to A&M. Metcalf served A&M for 32 years, includ ing the last 27 as the Aggies’ head coach. He compiled a 438-306 record at A&M, and holds Southwest Conference records for most seasons and most games. He earned his doctorate in philosophy from A&M in 1974. “Dr. Metcalfs ability to work with young people will be a valuable asset in the Uni versity’s expanding efforts to encourage ju nior and senior high school students to fin ish high school and pursue further educational opportunities that are consis tent with their interests and abilities,” Mob ley said. “Dr. Metcalf is a valued member of our University community, and he will add unique strength to our outreach program.” Rockets’ Floyd makes Lakers sleepy, 2-1 series to resume Thursday night HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Rock ets gave coach Don Chaney half of his guar antee Tuesday night and stopped the Lakers’ first-round winning streak in the process. Otis Thorpe took up the scoring slack for foul-plagued Akeem Olajuwon and Sleepy Floyd added 23 points and set a club play off record with 18 assists, leading the Rock ets to a 114-108 over Los Angeles in their NBA first-round playoff series. The Lakers had won 20 consecutive first-round games since a loss to Houston in 1981. After the Rockets fell behind 2-Q in the best-of-5 series, Chaney guaranteed the Rockets would win games in The Summit Tuesday and Thursday, forcing a deciding game in Los Angeles on Sunday. “The guarantee thing was just a ploy to get our guys going,” Chaney said. “I still re spect the Lakers, but we have another game to go before we go back out there.” Olajuwon scored 22 points and got seven rebounds. He drew his fourth foul 26 sec onds into the third quarter and missed most of the period. “That’s a decision a coach has to live with,” Chaney said. “We are a great defense when he’s in there. When he's out, we re suspect.” All five Houston starters scored in dou ble figures and they all contributed defensi vely, too, with Olajuwon on the sidelines. “When Akeem is out, we try to focus on teamwork,” Thorpe said. “It’s just a matter of doing your job and that’s what we did. “That was scary. When he’s out of the game we’re on the decline,” Chaney added. “But tonight we were able to buy some time until we could bring him back in the game.” “We’ve played well before when he has OR !«■ repo? jM chair- ropra dei' hewi woiilc ofag- Irreni hi an- It took Freud 38 years to understand it. You have one night. The psych exam is in 12 hours. And your id wants to party. Your ego wants to conk out. But your superego knows you need to stay awake tonight to cram. Fortunately, you’ve got Vivarin. It helps keep you awake and mentally alert for hours. Safely and conveniently. So all your brainpower can focus on understanding the brain. If Freud had used Vivarin, maybe he could have understood the brain faster, too Revive with VIVARIN: 1990 Sigmund Krcud copyright represented by The Roger Kiehman Agency, Beverly Hills. < A 1990 SmithKlinc Beccham Use as directed. Contains caffeine equivalent of two cups of coffee. Lady Aggies sign B linn’s Fasnacht for ’90 season From Staff and Wire Reports The Texas A&M women’s basketball team continued to rebuild its forces Tues day with the signing of guard Jennifer Fas nacht from Blinn College in Brenham. The junior from Austin is the third player to sign with the Lady Aggies this spring, joining Shawn Medlock from Wa co’s McClennan Community College and Beth Burket from Jourdanton High School. “Jennifer is a excellent competitor and a proven leader who will give us needed depth at the guard position,” said A&M head coach Lynn Hickey in a statement re leased by the University’s Sports Informa tion Department. “She’s a strong leader as well as a good student. “She’s the type of student-athlete that we want at Texas A&M.” Fasnacht will be reunited with former Blinn teammate Yvonne Hill. At Blinn, Hill and Fasnacht combined forces to lead the Lady Bucs to a 24-10 record, a conference and regional championship and a berth in the junior college national tournament. “Jennifer and Yvonne were a great duo at Blinn,” Hickey said. “I hope they can cre ate the same kind of chemistry at A&M.” Fasnacht received all-conference recog nition both her freshman and sophomore year at Blinn. She averaged 7.2 points, 8.3 assists, and 4.3 rebounds. Wayne Williams, Blinn College head bas ketball coach, said in addition to hertangi- ble skills, Fasnacht’s greatest asset could be her intagible skills. “She has tremendous dedication to the game,” Williams said. “She is a very intense worker and a great competitor, particularly when the game is on the line.” With the signing of Fasnacht, the Lady Aggies completed their recruiting for the 1990-91 season. “We feel that we’ve got some quality play ers coming in,” Hickey said. “The two ju nior college guards should be able to help us immediately.” Hickey also said that Terri Jo Bartlett, redshirted last year, has the ability to domi nate the SWC. “Nobody in the SWC is going to sign any body that big or that good,” Hickey said. “These players are good, solid additions, both athletically and academically, to the young group that we’ve got coming back this season.” 114-108 been out of the game,” Floyd said. “We’ve got players who can play with anyone, whether he is in or out of the game.” James Worthy led the Lakers with 26 points. Magic Johnson had 17 points, but none in the fourth quarter. “We shouldn’t force up shots like we did that their double-team coaxed us into,” Johnson said. “Tonight, they made the plays they needed to offensively and de fensively in the last five minutes. “We have to play 48 minutes, not 40 min utes.” Lakers coach Pat Riley agreed with his star. GET YOUR MIND OFF FINALS CLUB FAHRENHEIT THURSDAY NO COVER TILL 10 p.m. OPEN BAR 8-11p.m. FRIDAY NO COVER TILL 10 p.m. $1 HURRICANES/ LONG ISLAND TEAS SATURDAY NO COVER TILL 10 p.m. $1 DRINKS TILL MIDNITE! 815 HARVEY 764-1990