12, joThe Battalion
SPORTS
7
Tuesday, June 12,1990
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Sports Editor
Clay Rasmussen
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|Axena football is
he NFL’s answer
o a minor league
Hope springs eternal.
The Dallas Texans have won their first
® jame. I’m not referring to Lamar Hunt’s
ther * J Dallas Texans — they long ago became
' e Kansas City Chiefs. These Texans
ire a different breed, an arena football
ireed.
Since the inception of the National
also si; football League, various individuals
timing at, lave tried to form leagues to rival the
popularity of the NFL. In 1926, a band
af former NFL players formed the
American Football League. It lasted a
year.
In the mid-thirties, another group tried
:o revive the AFL. They encountered
mly a limited success, double the
lumber of years its predecessor lived.
After World War II, the All-American
botball Conference tried its hand in the
, enaof professional football and
ite, 1 Heir seemed well on the way to a healthy
existence. That is until the NFL annexed
the AAFC in 1950 to form the basis of
the NFL we know today.
And with 40 years under its belt, the
they he- NFL still is challenged. The formation of
lenthev* the World Football League in the 70s,
and the United States Football League in
the 80s have been the latest challengers
and their is talks about a world-wide
[football league in the mid-nineties.
Talk about over-satuaration.
Which brings us to the point. Instead
|of trying to steal the NFL’s thunder, why
don’t these short-lived leagues
contribute to the NFL.
The Dallas Texans are the newest
Texas team and a fledling member of the
sport of arena football. It is also what
many players only hope to be a stop on
the way to the NFL.
Alex Morris, a defensive back from
Texas A&M, dreams of joining the NFL
and playing with or against his comrades
from A&M that have hit it big in the
NFL. After numerous tryouts and
rejections from NFL teams, Morris
i'l C[ |decided to take a different route.
1*0 “I’ll make it in the NFL,” Morris said.
“I know I will. All I need is a chance.”
Morris is the essence of an arena
football player. In their minds, arena
football is just a way station, a spot to
bide their time and hone their skills.
Texan coach Ernie Stautner, who used
to be the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive
coordinator, sees the possibility of using
the new league as a stepping stone and
said his players realize it also.
“There isn’t a kid out here who
doesn’t hope this will be his ticket to the
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Johnson recruits to fill void
Pitching vacancies
top priority for Ags
From Staff and Wire Reports
Texas A&M baseball coach Mark John
son used the 1990 recruiting period not
only to bolster the virtually non-exsistent
Aggie offense, but also to fill in vacancies
on the mound and behind the plate.
Among Johnson’s 12 signees, six are
pitchers, one is a catcher and four are in-
fielders. Six recruits hit above .400 and join
an A&M team that is notorious for its lack
of offensive firepower.
However, even with the addition of six
sluggers, Johnson still voiced concern about
the Aggies’ hitting situation.
“I’m projecting that our hitters will get
better, but I’m stnl worried about it,” John
son said. “I still think we’re going to be able
to sign maybe one or two more hitters.
“Our obvious need was hitting.”
Another of Johnson’s obvious needs
comes in the form of a pitching staff.
A&M loses senior pitchers Pat Sweet,
Brent Gilbert and Kerry Freudenberg and
could possibly lose junior pitchers Rich
Robertson, Bo Siberz and Jason Bullard to
the pros.
“Hitting is important, but it would be a
little bit more of a disaster if we lost six top
pitchers,” Johnson said.
“We wanted to be sure we could get some
guys in here who could throw.”
Johnson and his staff signed three left-
and three right-handers. Southpaws in
clude Travis Baptist, a freshman from
Aloha, Ore., Alan Fiveash, a junior transfer
from Richland Community College and
Kelly Wunsch, a freshman from Houston.
The right-handers are freshmen Brian
Bittiker of Fort Worth, Brian Parker from
Arlington and Rob Trimble from Carthage.
To fill in behind the plate, Johnson
signed freshman Creighton Gubanich from
Pheonixville, Pa.
“I don’t think there’s any question Guba
nich is one of the best catchers in the coun
try,” Johnson said. “He’s got talent, a good
arm and can hit.”
Other A&M recruits signed this year are
shortstop Lee Fedora of A&M Consol
idated, third baseman Craig Bullock of
Houston Aldine, first baseman Conrad
Colby of Rancho Santiago Community Col
lege, California, second baseman Troy
Muckerheide of Kettering, Ohio, and out
fielder Brett Weinberger of Glendale Com
munity College, California.
“We feel good about this recruiting
class,” Johnson said. “We still have a lot of
offers out, and a lot of it revolves around
the draft.”
The Aggies still don’t know how many of
Battalion file photo by Mike C. Mulvey
Texas A&M baseball coach Mark Johnson hopes to fill gaps in the team with
12 signees. The Aggies earned a 43-17 record to finish fifth in the conference.
their recruits they will be able to hold. The
major league baseball draft could take away
some of A&M’s new, as well as existing, tal
ent.
Craig Bullock, a third baseman from
Houston, was selected by San Diego in the
draft and may sign with the Padres.
“I think we’re losing ground on Bullock,”
Johnson said. “The pros are really aggres
sive — more this year than any year I’ve
been in it.
“I really felt like Bullock was going to
make it to our campus, but now I have some
question marks.”
Johnson also could have some help in the
pitching department from freshman
pitcher Jeff Granger. Granger, who signed
a letter of intent to play football with the
Aggies earlier this spring, expressed a de
sire to play baseball as well.
UA Trustees consider merger with SEC
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — The
University of Arkansas Board of Trustees
will have little to do with the decision on
whether the Razorbacks should move to the
Southeastern Conference, the board chair
man says.
“Unless an individual campus is making a
big, big mistake, we try not to interfere,”
Chairman Jim Blair of Springdale said.
“However, the board will want to review
any decisions the university makes in this
matter.”
The board trusts Chancellor Dan Ferri-
tor and Athletic Director Frank Broyles,
Blair said in an interview Sunday.
“I approach it from a business stand
point,” he said. “You have 200 bad deals for
every one good deal. You have to look at
each opportunity.”
Arkansas is a member of the Southwest
Conference. The 10-team SEC, considering
an expansion, recently asked Arkansas if it
was interested in discussing a move.
The next UA Board meeting is set for
Friday in Pine Bluff, but board member
Sykes Harris of Warren said there are no
indications that the board will discuss the
move.
“I think it’s something we have to se
riously consider,” said Harris, who chairs
the athletic committee. “I’m in favor of
them considering the offer, but as for now,
we don’t have enough information to have
a concrete opinion.”
Bart Lindsey of Helena said there may be
no official discussion, but board members
will be talking about it during meeting
breaks.
“It is certainly going to be on everyone’s
mind,” Lindsey said. “I’m sure this will be
discussed and we’ll be made privy to some
of those numbers.”
He was referring to the potential in
crease in television revenues that would re
sult from a change in conference affiliation.
Riley leaves
City of Angels
with halo intact
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Pat Ri
ley bade a tearful farewell to the Los An
geles Lakers on Monday, saying that af
ter nine years and four NBA
championships “there are other things I
want to do with my life.”
Mike Dunleavy, an assistant coach for
the Milwaukee Bucks, was named as his
successor, and at age 36 becomes the sec
ond youngest head coach in the NBA.
Riley, who was 36 when the Lakers
hired him as head coach on Nov. 19,
1981, said goodbye at a packed news
conference inside the Forum.
“It’s just time for me at age 45 to move
on,” he said. “There are other things to
do. There isn’t anything specific I can
say right now. I had a choice to make, a
decision to make, as a person.”
Accompanied by his wife Chris, who
also teared up, Riley said he was neither
“fed up” nor “burned out” —just ready
for a change.
“The last 10 years have been the
greatest experience of my life,” he said.
“It was a wonderful decade of memora
ble experiences I’ve had. Basketball has
been my life. I’ve been 20 years in this
game.
“There are other things I want to do
in my life. I don’t want to be an old timer
before I do them,” he said.
Riley, who still has two years left on
his contract, is reportedly in line for a
broadcasting job with NBC, which be
comes the NBA’s prime network next
season.
Riley guided the Lakers to an NBA-
best 63-19 record this season and was
named NBA Coach of the Year for the
first time in his career. But Los Angeles
was eliminated by Phoenix in five games
in the Western Conference semifinals —
the first time the Lakers didn’t reach the
conference finals since 1981, their final
season under Paul Westhead.
Under Riley, the Lakers went 533-
194, a .733 winning percentage. They
also went 102-47 in playoff games, the
most playoff wins by one coach in NBA
history.
But following the Lakers’ early play
off exit, reports surfaced of rifts be
tween Riley and General Manager Jerry
West and between Riley and some of his
players.
“I never felt any separation” from the
players, Riley said at the news confer
ence.
“The reason why this team won five
championships during the ’80s and 63
games this season is that the team was to
gether.”
He said he made his final decision to
leave about 10 days ago, but kept it quiet
so the Lakers could Took for a replace
ment without a lot of fanfare ana then
make just one announcement.
Riley declined to comment on reports
he was returning to the broadcast booth.
NBC said it would have no comment on
its NBA lineup until the finals conclude.
Riley worked as a color commentator
with broadcaster Chick Hearn for two
seasons before being hired as an assis
tant to Westhead in November 1979.
When Westhead was fired 11 games into
the 1981-82 season, Riley took over and
guided the team to the NBA
championship that season.
Three more championships followed
—1985, 1987 and 1988. Riley promised
after the 1987 season that the Lakers
would repeat. When they did, they be
came the first team to do so since Boston
in 1969.
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MSC Visual Arts Committee
A Sense of Place
June 6 through July 31
Presenting the works of Buck Schiwetz,
Texas A&M class of '21, often called
Texas’ most beloved artist.
Join us for a reception
Tuesday, June 12, 7:00 pm
MSC Visual Arts Gallery
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will be on August 27,1990
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