V Sports on «11 MiJ ; h Center j ^ngvarioj ^ SBisaanc] Op.m.Foi- ' lea Wednesday, February 23,1994 The Battalion Page 5 ographjtj ; and disci ' Howard J 1 Rudder °ncra! m. 1 Koldus n call Shari loricoCeltf ^-11:30 p,- hite. Fort Sergio all ■ogicalSoc 1 at 8:30 p • For mo Elaine air ident Fell: rayer and: t the Uniie '1 and Sir: re inform: 1846-668/ seling Sen iw to chor 0 p.m. inf ■registratic •e inform; 427. >us Min: at A&MI ggiesupi? At 10 p: ng for fk eed peer' rountrie: Call C: Battalion m-profit: ■vents an :Ould be an three ! desired: mi deadli: nt events: n What's 1 r questi'l lewsroo® ' s fl¥toc:cof'' J Nick Georgandis Sportswriter Shaq's 'ego bigger than his size 20s' I t s halfway through his second NBA sea son, and Shaquille O'Neal has already been in two movies, recorded a rap album and writ ten an au tobiogra phy. He has his own line of shoes, a killer ad vertising style, is so rich it hurts and is still only 21. He also has no reliable out side shot, can't hit free throws if his life depended on it, has an ego bigger than his size 20 Reeboks and gets used every time he faces an all-around center. If he doesn't start improv ing his game soon, the NBA will quickly pass the Shaqman by. First of all, let's talk about shot selection. While watch ing Shaq in person last year versus the Rockets, and on television several times since then, I've noticed O'Neal has two patented shots; the dunk and the oop (the completion of an alley-oop). The problem with taking these shots is that you have to be really close to the basket to make them effective, a posi tion that is difficult to attain when there are three guys guarding you. If Shaq could develop a turn-around jumper or a baby hook, his game would actually be wor thy of his over-inflated ego. Because of his height and bulk, Shaq probably never needed an outside shot on the high school or college levels, but in the NBA, size means very little. After all, if it did, we'd all be wearing Air Manutes. See Shaq / Page 6 'Scrappy' Ferguson to start against Lady Horned Frogs By Kristine Ramirez The Battalion The Texas A&M women's bas ketball team will face Texas Chris tian University today at 7 p.m. with their newest starter, "scrap py" sopho more Bambi Ferguson. Ferguson, a 5-foot-8 guard, started against Oklahoma State on Jan. 3 and Oral Roberts last Saturday. Fer guson is start ing in sopho more Donyale Canada's spot. Head coach Lynn Hickey said the team is still trying to fit some one into the fifth starting position and Bambi has done a good job coming off the bench. "She's done good things for us off the bench," Hickey said. "We're trying to find the right player for that spot." Ferguson said the change from a reserve to starter has not been a Bambi Ferguson major change. "It's not really any different to me," she said. "I'm getting the same amount of playing time. The only thing different is that I don't get to see what the other team is doing before I get out there." She said, however, she enjoys the change because it allows her to help get the team going. "I enjoy it," Ferguson said. "Our teammates have to depend on us (the starters) to get things started in the game." Sophomore center Martha Mc Clelland said Ferguson clicks with the starters. "She's really very determined," McClelland said. "At times, she's fired up and at times, she is silent and gets the things done." Sophomore guard Lisa Branch said Ferguson is an offensive threat. "Bambi is a scrappy player," Branch said. "Bambi brings en thusiasm and motivation to the team." The team is ready to concen trate on TCU, Ferguson said. "We have to be a powerhouse See Ferguson / Page 6 Cotton Bowl to stay 'strong' no matter what SWC's future The Associated Press DALLAS — The Cotton Bowl will remain strong no matter what happens to its longtime South west Conference partner, officials for the New Year's Day game said Tuesday. "We're as strong as we have ever been," said John Scovell, a Cotton Bowl past president and vice chairman of the game's team selection committee. "So certainly whatever hap pens in this way, we are certain that we're going to play football on Jan. 1 in Dallas, Texas, for a long time to come." The SWC winner has earned a berth in the Cotton Bowl for more than half a century. But there may no longer be an SWC as Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Bay lor are considering informal offers to join the Big Eight. "If this agreement goes through on this new conference ... the reality is we won't have the Southwest Conference champion playing every year," said John Crawford, president of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association. "That's the major difference." No matter what, there will be football in Dallas on Jan. 1 through 2000 because of a spon sorship agreement with Mobil Corp. and othep.businesses have shown solid interest, game offi cials said. But having the Cotton Bowl without an SWC team would be a strange feeling, Crawford said. All but one of the 58 games have featured league teams, including the last 54. "When you start looking back over 54 years, it's just enormous the history and tradition you See Cotton Bowl / Page 6 Forging a Reunified Germany Featuring: Dr. Hildegard Boucsein, Permanent Under-Secretary for Federal and European Affairs with the Berlin Senate A discussion on the tension caused by German Reunification Thursday Feb. 24, 4:00 P.M 302 Rudder Tower Sponsored by the MSC L.T. Jordan Institute for International Awareness A Persons with disabilities please call 845-1515 to inform us of your special needs. We request notification three (3) working days prior to the event to enable us to assist you to the best of our abilities. William Harrison/THE Battalion A&M 6-foot-4 center Martha McClelland (54) shoots over Texas Tech's Mitchi Atkins (55) during the Lady Aggies' 67-64 victory over the then No. 4 Lady Red Raiders. WHO: Aggies vs. TCU Horned Frogs WHEN: Wed. Feb. 23, 7:05 p.m. WHERE: Daniel Meyer Coliseum, Fort Worth Probable Starters Aggies (16-6, 9-1 SWC) Horned Frogs (6-16, 3-8 SWC) Player PPG Player PPG David Edwards 12.8 Kurt Thomas 21.3 Chuck Henderson 8.9 jentry Moore 11.6 T.ony McGinnis 10.0 Jeff Jacobs 9.5 Damon Johnson 10.5 Chris Foreman 3.2 Brett Murry 9.4 Byron Waits 9.6 A&M Sports Notes Baseball The Texas A&M baseball team's doubleheader versus the Southwest Texas State Bobcats has been rescheduled for today because oFthe wet weather. The two teams will meet at Olsen Field at 1 p.m. today. Basketball The tipoff for the Texas A&M men's basketbal game against Texas Tech University on March 5 has been moved to noon, from its original 7 p.m. starting time. The move was made to ac comodate Raycom television, who will telecast the game. Tennis The Texas A&M's men's tennis team match versus the Michigan Wolverines was post-poned Tuesday because of the rain. The match will resume to day at 1:30 at the Omar Smith Tennis Center. A&M has a 1-0 lead after the A&M doubles team of Mark Weaver and Bernardo Martinez won over Michi gan's Dan Brakus and John Constanzo 9-8 (15-13 in the tiebreaker.) Jordan selective in first day at bat The Associated Press SARASOTA, Fla. — Michael Jordan was selective Tuesday as he sampled major league pitch ing for the first time. He didn't miss any of the 30 pitches thrown to. him by veteran Jose DeLeon, but he didn't swing at many ei ther. "He did OK," said DeLeon, who estimated his top speed at about 80 mph. "Today's the first day and you want to throw strikes and let them hit it." £77? e- £/7o7/e/i/'ottt/T/ fc/'es-enbs 72 TTe/n. tot//?, s/?€eta/yute&/& Qjatt&iofbo/ £8ea/ a/?x/' (j/? as?sie// 67). TTtcAe/s aoat/a/& siooh a/ £77?e 777o/?ey one/ jfTa/'oo/iec/ TTlecortTs- S8ac/c?anc&, S/O a/ tAo c/oo?^ Q)oo/\Ss ojbes?/ at 7-'00 iJA.oco'