• Septembi Aggielife - ,<• % - . i The Battalion • Page 3 Black Brings big show to Rudder tonight oration will not| ore room forbusii r^anizations it will also relievef ing in Blocker. J Dowling, direct# anning and insti lysis, said theCes nic Enhancemati rt ments of Engliij rim unication, to osophy and hma statistics willji e in the building, g said the deans e of Science, theC oral Arts and the! of Agricultural 6 v'ill move intoi: the math departs move into the bn hey will retaini;j pace in the Mila Warren Wright flies high off a 2 foot launch ramp. Skaters often catch up to 6 feet of air. By Claudia Zavaleta Bk Battalion I Ice or no ice, in College Station, people are strapping on their skates. In-line skates that is. ■ Thanks to the growing popularity of hock ey, the wheeled cousin of the ice skate has bem discovered in the South, gaining popu larity not just as a training tool for off-the- "athletes, but with anyotieTooking for a tibw sport. I “Now, everyone’s got in lines,” Trey Nash, president of the A&M In-Line Skate Club said. I “It’s a nation-wide thing. It has become the biggest recreational craze, like aerobics was in the ‘80s. The explosion of popularity of these things has been unreal.” Russell Gesh, adviser to the A&M In- ^ood pe i earned •0 cash ever knew! inge chairs a 1C\ exchangee Tin,, Skalr < Hub, said he got his first in-line lildren, life omorrow, f fishing, ites they were ling good, iooron a regular lice. )U. skates in Minnesota to train for hockey when there was no ice. |(H “I got started before it became a fad,” the ■-year-old research associate for soil and crop studies said. “When I came here, there were very few in-line skaters, but when it started getting big on the West Coast, people saw it and tried it.” I dke Gesh, Nash also played hockey, but he turned to in-lines because there weren’t that many skating rinks in Dallas. “I’ve played hockey since I was four,” Nash said, “but for lack of ice, 1 got my skates. I like it over any other activity because there is the potential for a lot of speed. It is more eventful than jogging around the block.” Nash said the skates have been around for a long time, but until recently, they were mostly used for ice-sports training. Now, freestyle skaters use jumps and ramps like skate boarders and borrow some moves from freestyle skiers. With prices for a pair of skates ranging from $69 to more than $300, depending on the brand and type, the sport is appealing to an even wider range of people who are look ing for a new form of exercise. In-line skate sales in the area are so brisk that local sporting good stores, like BCS Bicycles, are having trouble keeping them in stock. Photo by Stew Milne/THE Battalion “Demand has gone up incredibly,” BCS Bi cycles employee William Brown said. “The two major manufacturers, Rollerblade and Bauer, said that they were one million pair of skates short of their de mand. We get a lot of students, but a lot of older people like doctors come in with a friend to try them out before buying them.” Gesh said many people who are looking for a low-impact, aerobic workout like the fluid ..jnoipop of sliatjrig and l}ave adopted the sport. “It is fairly easy to pick up, and 1 think it’s easier than ico skating,” Gesh said. “It’s bet ter than running because with skating, you don’t bang on the tar unless you fall.” Most sporting-goods stores also sell protec tive pads and gear along with skates, he said. Nash said although there is a low potential for injury while skating, beginners should take precautions. “If were playing hockey,” he said, “ and someone shows up that wants to leam how to play, we don’t refuse them. But if they don’t have knee pads or something, we try to con vince them to wait until next time.” By Jennifer Gressett The Battalion Considering that he’s one of “new” country’s biggest names, it isn’t surprising that Clint Black is finding new outlets for success. He’ll demonstrate this in a unique performance in Rud der Auditorium tonight. Why such a big star in such a small place? It seems Black has been planning his “Up Close...In Concert” tour for quite a while. Contrary to his typical bright light, big stage performances, Black said he “wanted to go to the other extreme and play in small venues to get that up close and personal communication with my audience as if we were coming to (their) living room.” The performance will include former hits as well as features from his latest release, “No Time To Kill.” His fourth for RCA Records, the album has al ready scored five hits on the country music charts. These in clude “A Bad Goodbye,” a duet with Wynonna, “No Time To Kill,” “State bf Mind'/’AA Good Run of Bad Luck,” and “Half the Man.” A new album isn’t the only new change in Black’s career, however. This summer’s west ern blockbuster, “Maverick,” which starred Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner, not only featured “A Good Run of Bad Luck” on its soundtrack, but also offered Black’s acting debut. And, although he’s not quite the actor his wife Lisa Hartman is, his brief role as a riverboat gambler appeared to be a fun side road in his career. Prior to his latest release, Black found many ways to di versify his talent. Along with a performance for U.S. troops in Somalia, he has managed to be part of two diverse music collec tions. “Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles,” was one of these. Country musicums such as Vince Gill and Travis Tritt also contributed to the album, which features Eagles hits such as “Desperado,” which Black performed. A portion of the royalties from the sales of the collection went to the Walden Woods Pro ject, a non-profit organization founded in 1990. The purpose of the project is to purchase, and thereby preserve, environmen tally sensitive and historically significant forest land located near Henry David Thoreau’s famed retreat at Walden Pond. Another side road for Black included his performance of “Chain of Fools,” with the Point er Sisters on “Rhythm Country & Blues,” a collection combining the voices of country musicians such as Lyle Lttvett and Trisha Yearwood with li&B musicians such as Reverend A1 Green and Aaron Neville. The purpose of the project was to show that a common ground does, in fact, ex ist between country and R&B. Throughout his career, Black has been able to maintain diver sity both in and out of the coun try music scene. Black’s performance will be at 8:00 tonight in Rudder Audi torium. For more information call the MSC Box Office at 845- 1234. “enter Id. ON hief Opinion editor XE, Photo editor t, Sports editor ggielife editor Stephanie Dube, Stacey sser, Angela Neaves, SuM"; i lam, Jennifer Montiel, ay, Tim Moog, Gina ipson Gressett and Jeremy i, Aja Henderson, ErinHlI eorge Nasr, Elizabeth Pr$| takley elle Oleson y during the fall and spri ,l !j': xcept University holiday* 1 !. College Station, TX 778® j. maid Building, Texas AW, A&M University in the ] Editorial offices are in W room phone numberis“ idorsement by The Bap 11 ' j lassified advertising, call I urs are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m- I Get A Mug! AG GI ELAND AG GI ELAND AG GIE LAN D AGGI ELAN D t’s that time again, Ags! So hurry on out and get your picture in the 1995 Aggieland! For only $1.00, you can beat the rush and be a part of the nation’s largest yearbook. From September 5-16, students from EVERY ( \ CLASS will be able to get their picture 1 - -r ^ ft: taken at AR Photography, Monday- JBk - / xpy j Friday, 9 to 5. If you didn’t pay during f.JJjsrS' \ .4$ L; jMr YHi m - vV-' Jt mm f registration, bring $1.00 ro 230 Reed McDonald. Don’t miss out on your $ AV 0 chance to be like these glamorous . *> Aggies. Come on down and get a mug > HP ' , N v : 7 A\ ' y for the 1995 Aggieland! 1