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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1993)
I Sports Page 4 The Battalion Friday, April 23,1993 Leagues show that fantasies can come true T o have a starting rotation of Kevin Brown, Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan, and Jack Mc Dowell accom panied by Den nis Eckersley in the pen would be a manager's dream, but to some of base ball's most lov ing fans, it is a reality. Rotisserie baseball is one of the newest trends in games for sport fans. Fantasy leagues, as they are more commonly known, currently exist around the country for basketball, baseball, and the ever-popular football. Before the respective seasons, groups of over sized children gather to hold a draft to hopefully fill it with their own sports heros. The actual name "Rotisserie" was derived from the founders of the unique game. These brilliant minds are editors and senior writers for Sports Illustrated. The name is not for a special way to broil your fa vorite chicken, but for the name of the restaurant in New York at which they came up with this stroke of ge nius. Developed five years ago, its pop ularity has increased enormously across the United States in both the workplace and among the younger generation. Businessmen do it as a See Rush/Page 5 MATTHEW J. RUSH Sports Writer Bates ready for NFL spotlight Aggies not looking past Battalion file photo Patrick Bates (29) focuses on a loose ball in last Novermber's game against Texas Christian. Bates is expected to be selected in the first round or Sunday's National Football League draft, possibly by Atlanta or Tampa Bay. By MICHAEL PLUMER The Battalion Patrick Bates requested an early end to his college career so he could have a new beginning in the National Football League. Bates, who toiled at free safety the past two years for Texas A&M, gave up his fi nal season of eligibility to enter the NFL draft, which takes place on Sunday. The decision was not an easy one, so Bates re quested assistance. "I asked (head) coach (R.C.) Slocum to help me and he really did," Bates said in a telephone interview from Malibu, Calif. "He was instrumental in me making the decision to come out early, because he called around the NFL to see where my position was. "He and I didn't think my position would change if I came back to A&M, so the best thing for me to do, in his opinion, was to leave. The higher I go, the more I will thank him for making this possible." Bates added that he felt personally it was time to move on, although he said! he will come back to finish his degree. "I hope it will pay off," he said. "I could have stayed in school, but I thought it was time to move to the next level and see what I could do. I want to get my de gree, and hopefully I can return here and coach someday. "That would be great." Players that leave school do it for a va riety of reasons. But Bates stated that there was one reason why he definitely did not leave. "Some guys say they come out because of financial reasons, but that was no prob lem for me," he said. Money was not the issue. Playing in the NFL right now was." A&M assistant coach and defensive co ordinator Bob Davie said Bates' early move to the NFL was a wise choice. "Of course we would like to have him come back, but he is a player that had a chance to be a first round pick," Davie said. "Coach Slocum and myself told him that it was in his best interests to leave, because he needed to keep his best inter ests at heart concerning the future. "If he was my son, I would have told him to leave." Entering the draft early is always a risky proposition. A player might not be prepared for the rigors of NFL competi tion or able to handle the mental de mands of playing at such a high level. Bates said that he does not foresee any problems like those occurring. "I think I am ready for the next level because of the the solid coaching I re ceived at Texas A&M from Coach Slocum and Coach Davie," Bates said. "NFL coaches say guys at A&M are ahead of other players because of the coaching we receive and the system we play in." Off the field. Bates added he was able to gain experience that he could not re- See Bates/Page 5 By DAVID WINDER The Battalion From now on, every game the No.l Texas A&M baseball team (41-6) plays will become its most important of the season. Entering this weekend's series against the Rice Owls the Aggies hold a one game lead over the University of Texas in the Southwest Conference title race. A sweep of the Owls would force the Long horns to win all three games against the Aggies next weekend to have any part of the conference championship. But first, A&M must face an Owl team who is fighting for a chance at post-season play. "Rice has an outstanding ballclub," A&M coach Mark Johnson said. "They have stumbled a coupled of time against Texas and Texas Tech, but we are still go ing to have a good weekend." Rice is led by third baseman Dana Davis with a .395 average, followed by second baseman Chris Boni at .364. Jose i Cruz, Jr., provides the power in their j lineup, hitting nine home runs on the season while collecting 57 hits. The hottest Owl since conference play started has been outfielder Donald Aslaksen, who is among the conference leaders in home runs and RBI's. "Rice has a good hitting team, but if Jeff (Granger), Kelly (Wunsch), and my self pitch like we can, we should have some success," A&M pitcher/designated hitter Trey Moore said. "This is a big se ries for us, but I think if we play like we are capable of we should do alright." Moore currently leads the SWC withal 1.64 earned run average and a 10-0 record. Wunsch also has a perfect record at 6-0 with a 3.09 ERA. 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Jewelers ♦ Gemologists 701 University Drive E • Across from toe Hilton College Station • 848-4151 Beating the guys hack in the neighborhood when I was a hid We re proud this champion made me think I was pretty good. But at the same time, I wore Champion for the U S A. always knew it’s not about how good I am, but how goo d I can be. in the 1992 Summer Games. In sports, in life and in our clothes, it takes a little more to make a Champiom
