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. Granger is cur
rently tied for the SWC lead in strikeouts
with 98 with Travis Driskill of Texas
Tech. He currently has a 2.52 ERA and a
10-2 record.
Mir
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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