Tuesday* January 17, 1995
Cowboys post sea
son meeting full of
no-shows
IRVING, (AP) — The offsea
son began two weeks earlier
than expected and as quietly as
possible for the Dallas Cowboys
on Monday.
Valley Ranch was silent as
very few players found reason to
hurry back to the team’s train
ing facility a day after a 38-28
loss to the San Francisco 49ers
kept them out of a Super Bowl
for the first time in three years.
The only official purpose for
coining by was to take a season-
ending physical, and for most
players it could wait. For defen
sive lineman Charles Haley, it
may never come if he’s serious
about his decision to retire.
His surprising post-game an
nouncement (and whether he’s
serious about it) and questions
about offseason plans were the
main topics of conversation
among the handful of players
who showed up.
Astros begin spring
training on Feb. 16
HOUSTON (AP) — The
Houston Astros have opened the
club’s training facilities in the
Astrodome for players living in
the Houston area.
The players on the 40-man
roster may begin workouts in
preparation for spring training,
the team said Monday.
The Astrodome had been
closed to players on the roster,
except those receiving treat
ment for injuries, since the start
of the players’ strike on Aug. 12.
Spring training for the Astros
is scheduled to begin Feb. 16 in
Kissimmee, Fla.
Mark Philippoussis
shows strength in
Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia
(AP) — He’s a kid with teen-age
acne and the body of a god, thun
derous serves and lightning-bolt
volleys, a million dollars in the
bank and millions more to be
made.
Mark Philippoussis is called
the Golden Greek in this city of
Greeks, and now the rest of the
tennis world knows why. The fu
ture of the game may be his for
the taking.
Stefan Edberg has seen all
the big hitters of the past decade,
felt the power of the young Boris
Becker and the mature Pete
Sampras, yet no one he’s faced
has slugged with more raw pow
er from all over the court than
this 18-year-old with a Greek
name and Australian accent.
“He is as powerful as you are
going to get,” Edberg said after
drawing on all his experience to
survive their match, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6
(7-1) 7-5, Monday night at the
Australian Open.
“He was hitting the ball so
hard, I couldn’t even react to
some of the shots. It’s lucky they
didn’t go through my stomach at
some stages.”
The Battalion • Page 15
Aggies hoping to bounce back with Rice win
Amy Browning/THE Battalion
Senior Joe Wilbert sets up for a quick move in the Aggies win over Texas Tech last
Wednesday in G. Rollie
□ Aggies are learning
from mistakes of
Longhorn defeat
By Kristina Buffin
The Battalion
With only one day of practice to pre
pare for tonight’s game against the Rice
University Owls (6-6, 2-0), the Texas
A&M men’s basketball team (7-9, 1-1)
will try to put Saturday night’s loss to
the University of Texas behind them
and use the knowledge that they gained
from that loss to play hard against the
Owls at The Summit in Houston.
“We can never wash away what hap
pened after we got our ass beat,” head
coach Tony Barone said. “But the residu
als will be a benefit. Our kids are
resilient.”
The Aggies will face a much stronger
Rice team that is carrying a two game
winning streak into tonight’s game. The
keys for the Aggies will be to create
turnovers, rebound well and contain
Rice senior forward Adam Peakes.
“Peakes is key,” Barone said. “He is
an All-American, a great shooter, a
leader for the team and he gets the of
fensive rebounds.”
Peakes is averaging 34.3 minutes,
16.6 points, 9.4 rebounds (2.0 offensive)
per game. In addition to Peakes, junior
guard Tommy McGhee and junior center
Kevin Nanney will pose a threat the the
Aggies’s game plan.
“Last year they focused on one player,
so it was easy to create a defense around
that player,” Barone said. “This season
they have a good, solid team that in
cludes McGhee and Nanney who had
good games against SMU and Houston.”
The Aggies will put their 115-82 loss
to UT behind them and concentrate on
playing more patiently and trying to not
turn the ball over as much.
“Texas played a great game,” senior
forward Damon Johnson said. “We need
to throw it all behind us, control the
See Basketball/Page 1 6
Aggie baseball warming up for spring season
□Tough non-conference
match-ups prepare
Aggies for tough season
By Robert Rodriguez
The Battalion
The forecast called for white objects to
fall from the sky around Olsen field and
the players could not wait for it to hap
pen. It was not snow that greeted the
baseball team in unseasonably warm
temperatures, but the sight of baseballs
that filled the air.
Monday marked the first day of base
ball practice for the Aggies. With several
key players returning from last year’s
squad and some new faces filling in, the
Aggies feel confident of erasing any
doubts people have about this year after a
disappointing season last year. Senior in
fielder and captain Robert Harris believes
attitude is the key for the team this year.
“Last year, we thought we could go out
on to the field and that was going to win
the game, because we were Texas A&M,”
Harris said. “That didn’t work out, so this
fall we have been working our butts off,
and the attitude is totally different than
from last year.”
One of the main concerns for the team
this year will be the performance of their
pitching staff. Injuries and depth
plagued the staff last year and coach
Mark Johnson thinks pitching will be one
of the keys for the Aggies if they hope to
contend for the Southwest Conference
baseball crown.
“We have to get our pitching going
good this year,” Johnson said. “On the
mound, we got to have some guys stay
healthy and do well for us.”
Even though some of the older players
are expected to carry the load and lead
the team this year, Johnson believes it is
not the job of one person to do this, but a
job suited for one team.
“We have got some older guys who
have been in the hunt before and I’m go
ing to put a little pressure on those guys,”
Johnson said. “They’ve been with us in
Omaha and have been with us in the
downpoints. However, I’m not going to
put the load on one person.”
The baseball team returns several se
niors this year, including Harris, infielder
John Curl and outfielder Stephen Clay-
brook, who went to the College World Se
ries with the team two years ago. Howev
er, some of the new faces on the team
See Practice/Page 1 6
Stew Milne/THF Battalion
Spring practice at Pat Olsen field signals the start of the 1995 collegiate baseball
season.
Lack of spirit hurts Aggie basketball
Last week, a crowd of 7,774 saw the
Texas A&M men’s team beat Southwest
Conference favorite Texas Tech 90-80 and
the Lady Aggies knock off the Lady Long
horns 75-61. That’s a great crowd, consid
ering G. Rollie White Coliseum’s capacity
is 7,780. Oh, did I mention that attendance
figure was for the two games combined?
Much has been made of the Aggie bas
ketball teams’ inability to draw large
crowds at home, and quite frankly, I am at
a loss as to why G. Rollie White stays half
empty, even for the Aggies’ best rivals.
Why is that?
Low attendance leaves
G. Rollie nearly empty
It can’t be for the lack of a good product.
Both teams are putting proven winners on
the court. Both teams went to post-season,
with the Lady Aggies advancing all the
way to the Sweet 16 before falling to Pur
due.
Both teams also field arguably the two
best players in the conference, forward Joe
Wilbert and guard Lisa Branch. Wilbert
overpowered Tech with a career-high 38
points last Wednesday and Branch dissect
ed the Texas defense for 17 points and 10
rebounds on Saturday afternoon.
OK, so it’s not the teams, what other
reasons could it be? How about the facili
ties? Now, granted G. Rollie White is no
Alamodome, but it does have seats and re
strooms and solid views of the court no
matter where you’re sitting. Even if you
think G. Rollie White is a bit on the de
crepit side, come and see the last year of
basketball there before A&M’s monstrous
special events center opens next spring.
OK, so it’s not the facilities that
seems to leave a only one option, namely
one option made up of over 43,000 people.
Yes, it’s your fault. You, the student
body are solely to blame for the number of
empty seats seen nightly at G. Rollie
White. Now before I really get started
here, let me make this disclaimer:
If you are a big basketball fan and at
tend a lot of games and scream your head
off in support of the home team, DON’T
write in and tell me that you support the
Aggies! I know this, I’ve been to the
games, I know that there are a couple of
thousand very loyal fans who support both
Tony Barone and Candi Harvey’s teams
win or lose. I am not addressing you here,
so don’t get mad and flood my box with
hate mail(again).
But for the rest of you, my simple ques
tion is: Where are you?
You go to football games, you go to Bon
fire, you go to Muster, why not G. Rollie
White? Albeit A&M is football country, but
if you’ve ever tried to get a free court at
DeWare to shoot some baskets, you know
there are plenty of hoops fans on campus.
See Georgandis/Page 16
BREITLING
John D. Huntley, Inc
"Very Personal Investments"
313B S. College Ave.
College Station, TX 77840 • (409)846-8916 • 846-8905
After Christmas Aggie Appreciation Sale
Sale has been extended for all of our Aggie Customers - Bring College I.D.
January 1 7 - 28
• Most Mounted Gold Coin Jewelry - 65% Off • Most Diamond, Colored Stone, Pendants, Earrings, ect. - 70% Off • All 14k & 18k Diamond Semi-mounts - 70% Off
• All 14k Gold and Cubic Zirconia Jewelry - 70% Off • Most Diamond & Colored Stone Rings, Anniversary Bands & Tennis Bracelets - 70% Off • All 10k & 14k Gold
Chains, Bracelets and Earrings - 70% Off (except A&M Charms) • All Pearl Strands, Bracelets and Pearl Stud Earrings - 70% Off • All Citizen Watches (except A&M
Citizen) - 40% Off • All Breitling Watches - 20% Off • All Tag-Heuer Watches - 20% Off - Selected Tag-Heuer - 30% Off • All Coins Reduced
Credit Cards add 4%
(Loose Diamonds Plus 10%)
AH Loose Diamonds are reduced and specially priced
Pay by Cash or
Personal Checks