Thursday • January 26, 1995
g PORTS
The Battalion • Pa g e 9
Michigan breaks
Hoosiers’ streak
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) —
The pattern was familiar. This
time, though, Indiana’s resilience
and its long winning streak
finally snapped.
A 65-52 loss to Michigan on
Tuesday night was the Hoosiers’ first in
Assembly Hall since 1991, although
they had come perilously close to
defeat for more than a year. With the
loss of three starters from last season,
even coach Bob Knight knew it was
only a matter of time.
“I don’t have any pretense that
we’re a national contender,” he said.
"I’d just like to see us develop an
attitude toward play that makes us
as good as we can be ... not game-
by-game but possession-by-
possession. Then it would be
interesting to see what kind of team
we have.”
Indiana dropped to 11-7, 3-3 in the
Big Ten.
U.S. men dominate
Down Under
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — In
all the decades American men sailed
over or flew in to play Grand Slam
tennis tournaments on foreign soil,
they never ruled one as they have this
Australian Open. .
Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi,
Michael Chang and Aaron Krickstein,
the all-American semifinalists,
accomplished a feat unmatched in the
golden years of Bill Tilden and his
buddies in the 1920s and the fiery days
of Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and
friends in the 1970s and ’80s.
The last time American men
dominated a Grand Slam like this —
and the only other time since the Open
era began in 1968 — was at the U.S.
Open in 1979, when Connors,
McEnroe, Vitas Gerulaitis and Roscoe
Tanner reached the semis.
"That’s pretty amazing ... when you
include me,” said Krickstein, the last
and least likely of the foursome to get
so far in the Australian. “I think the
other guys expect to get there every
time. But it was nice for me to pop in
there after five years.
Young named NFL
Player of the Year
MIAMI (AP) — Steve Young
joined former teammate Joe
Montana on Wednesday as the only
two-time winner of the NFL Player of
the Year Award.
‘‘It’s an amazing thing,” Young
said. “The second time makes it even
more amazing.”
The San Francisco 49ers’
quarterback also won the award in
1992. Montana was the winner in 1989
and 1990.
The 49ers will face San Diego in
Sunday’s Super Bowl at Joe Robbie
Stadium. San Francisco set a team
scoring record, and Young set an
NFL record with a quarterback rating
of 112.8.
“In a lot of ways I was able to get
votes because our offense is so
great,” Young said. “And they think,
Well, their offense is so great, let’s
give it to Steve Young.’
“I don’t feel like it’s just me. If it was
just me, I don’t think I would make it.”
The winner was selected from six
finalists by 168 members of the media.
Other finalists were 49ers receiver
Jerry Rice, Dallas running back Emmitt
Smith, Detroit running back Barry
Sanders, Buffalo defensive end Bruce
Smith and Pittsburgh linebacker Kevin
Greene.
All but Sanders attended the
award ceremony.
The award is sponsored by Miller
Lite in conjunction with the NFL Hall
of Fame.
Texas baseball teams struggle with strike
□ Baseball veterans
see complexities of
finding middle ground.
By Nick Georgandis
The Battalion
Bucky Dent has seen baseball
strikes before.
As a player with the New York Yan
kees in 1981, Dent and fellow players
walked out on their owners for two
months, splitting the ‘81 campaign into
two mini-seasons.
As manager of the Yankees in 1990,
Dent watched as the owners locked the
players out of spring training and the
Astros’ commentator Larry Dierker says
issue has more than two sides.
first week of the season, forcing a slew
of doubleheaders later in the season to
make up for lost time.
Now, in his first season as the Texas
Rangers’ bench coach. Dent is getting
another look at a strike, arguably the
worst in major league history.
“I’ve been on both sides, so I can un
derstand both sides’ opinions,” Dent
said Monday as the Texas Rangers’ car
avan rolled through College Station. “I
just hope they(the two sides) can get it
done. What they need to do is both sit
down and just decide to settle it.”
Larry Dierker has also seen both
sides of the coin when it comes to the
players versus the owners. The former
Astro standout and current Astro radio
and television color commentator has
been out of the league for over 15 years
and said the uniqueness of this strike is
that there are actually more than two
sides to the issue.
“The problem is every side, the small-
market teams, the large-market teams
and the players all have a legitimate
case, “ Dierker said. “It’s a lot harder to
find a middle ground for three view
points than it is for only two.”
As far as salvaging the 1995 season
with regular players, Dierker said he
sees two plausible scenarios.
“I think right now baseball people are
waiting for the government to inter
vene, since some of the senators and
congressman are trying to remove the
anti-trust exemption, “ Dierker said.
“But I have a feeling that as Opening
Day approaches, there will be pressure
to solve the problem ‘within the family.’
“It will be a few players that need the
money or an owner that makes a few
See Veterans, Page 10
□ Rangers and Astros
brace for the reality of
replacement players.
By David Winder
The Battalion
Terry Collins will begin his second
year as the manager of the Houston
Astros this spring. But this time he
will not be filling his line-up card with
the familiar names of Jeff Bagwell and
Craig Biggio.
If the Major League player’s strike
is not resolved by late February,
Collins will have to make due with
replacement players. The Astros
will field a team made up of minor
leaguers and former professional
baseball players.
“I managed in the minors for a
number of years,” Collins said.
“I know that Triple A players can
execute and do other things to play
this game.”
Collins said he did not know if
his job would be tougher with the re
placement players.
“I really won’t know what we (the
Astros’ coaching staff) have to do
until I see the players that we’ve
brought in,” Collins said. “We’re trying
to get the best players we can. All we
need is 32.”
Texas Rangers’ bench coach Bucky
Dent said he is not going to go about
his job any different.
“My job is to go to spring training
and prepare the best team to take the
field,” Dent said. “With whatever play
ers we have.”
Astros’ manager Terry Collins says he
has faith in minor league players.
Rangers’ assistant general manager
Sandy Johnson said his team will use
minor leaguers and minor league free
agents as replacement players.
“We’ve been relying on reports go
ing over the free agent lists and talk
ing to our scouts,” Johnson said.
Playing replacement players
has also caused the Rangers to slash
ticket prices.
“For one thing we can afford to do
it because these players will not
be making millions,” Rangers’
radio play-by-play announcer Eric
Nadel said. “We’re not trying to fool
anybody into thinking that the caliber
of play is going to be the same, so
we’re trying to make this as affordable
as we can.”
See Replacements, Page 1 0
Tough softball schedule to bring unity to team
□ The Lady Aggie team
will use this season to
prepare for Big 1 2 play.
By Shelly Hall
The Battalion
As the first Texas A&M team to gear-
up for Big 12 Conference play starting
next year, the Lady Aggie softball team
will spend a lot of time on the West Coast
this season.
Head coach Bob Brock said the tough
schedule, which includes a road trek
through California in mid-March, will
help prepare the team for the Big 12.
“The schedule we have this year is
tough,” Brock said. “We will be playing
against top ten teams mostly on the West
Coast, making it one of the strongest in
the nation.”
Brock said the Lady Aggies tough
schedule should produce team unity.
“This road schedule will bring the
team closer together,” Brock said. “Play
ing on the West Coast will make a family
out of the team.”
After losing senior pitcher Kim Gonza
lez to eligibility. Brock said sophomore
pitcher Christy Bunting will need to car
ry the load on the mound this season.
“Bunting will need to step it up for our
team to continue the success we had last
year,” Brock said.
The Lady Aggies, who return only sev
en players, will introduce ten rookies to
the field this season. The top newcomer is
junior infielder Erin Field is a junior col
lege transfer from Sacramento City Col
lege where she earned first-team All-
American honors.
“I expect Erin to make an immediate
impact,” Brock said.
After a week and a half of practice.
Brock said he is positive about the team’s
progress.
“I think practice has gone well,” Brock
said. “The team came back in shape and
focused for the season ahead.”
Senior catcher Beth Gerken, who tied
for a team lead 83 hits last season, said
the team’s focus can be attributed to a
strong desire to go to the softball World
Series. Gerken said the team will step up
to the challenge and prove to other teams
that they are contenders.
“We play better on the road, especially
after last year’s road schedule,” Gerken
said. “We will show the West Coast teams
that we are contenders and that we will
give anyone a show down.”
Sophomore second baseman Merry
Mapp, who had a team-leading ? 46 runs
ranking her third in the A&M record
books, said the young team is bonding be 1
fore they hit the road.
“We have a lot of talent on the team
this year with the new players,” Mapp
said. “We are already blending together
as a team.”
Bunting said the talented opposition
the Lady Aggies will face is positive for
the team. iL
“Since we are a young team, playing
the West Coast teams will teach us a laL”
Bunting said. “The teams outside of
Texas are better. We’re just going to have
to take it one game at a time.”
Fan fanatacism taints idea, image of ‘good sports’
Shelly
Hall
Sportswriter
I t’s no secret that people all
over the world love sports.
Loyalty abounds in football
stadiums across America.
On any given Saturday or
Sunday, fans pay well over
$100 to watch their chosen he
roes lead their teams to victory
or defeat. A circus-like atmos
phere radiates from the televi
sion screens as millions of fans
put their lives on hold to cheer
their favorite team and pray for
a win.
A mirage of color covers the
stadium as fans, faces painted
and bearing signs, become the
sideshow to the game at hand.
While this sideshow adds to
the atmosphere of sports, fans
have been known to take victory
and defeat to the extreme and
step past the limits of their sta
dium seats.
Fan fanaticism, while not
a new phenomenon, has come
into the news once again.
Just recently in San Francisco,
a few fans were gathered in
celebration of the victory
of their 49ers when a man
walked up. He proceeded to
ask them if they were 49er
fans. When the group of fans
answered, “Yes,” the man
pulled out a gun and shot a
round of bullets into the carous
ing group, killing one man and
severely wounding another.
To this sick man, the game
meant life and death. The battle
for victory and the reality of de
feat has driven fans past the
limits that, in the past, confined
them to the sidelines.
Fan fanaticism came into the
news in the mid-80’s when
Tom Landry was leading the
Dallas Cowboys to a victory at
RFK Stadium against the
Washington Redskins on Mon
day Night Football. A fan called
the stadium personnel and said
he was going to shoot the Cow
boy coach.
Police had to escort Landry off
the field during the game and
equip him with a bulletproof vest
before he could return back to
the field and do his job. This is
not a problem that is only invad
ing football stadiums in the
United States.
Many remember the World
Cup game between Colombia
and the United States this past
summer. Colombia’s Andres Es
cobar kicked an autogoal into
the U.S. team’s net giving the
U.S. team a 2-1 victory.
A few days later, Escobar was
shot and killed outside of a bar-
in Colombia by a fanatic soccer
fan who did not possess the atti
tude of a “good sport.”
Also, let’s not forget all of the
many lives that have been affect
ed in soccer stadiums in Europe.
Many people have sat in disbe
lief watching the horror on
See Hall, Page 1 0
AGGIE RING ORDERS
THE ASSOCIATION OF FORMER STUDENTS
CLAYTON W. WILLIAMS, JR. ALUMNI CENTER
DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 7, 1995
Undergraduate Student Requirements:
1. You must be a degree seeking student and have a total of 95 credit hours reflected on the
Texas A&M University Student Information Management System. (A passed course, which is
repeated and passed, cannot count as additional credit hours.) '
2. 3Q credit hours must have been completed in residence at Texas A&M University. However, if
you did not successfully complete one semester at Texas A&M University prior to January 1,
1994, you must complete a minimum of 60 credit hours in residence. Should your degree be
conferred with less than 60 Texas A&M University resident credits, this requirement will be
waived after your degree is posted on the Student Information Management System.
3. You must have a 2L0 cumulative GPR at Texas A&M University.
4. You must be in good standing with the University, including no registration or transcript
blocks for past due fees, loans, parking tickets, returned checks, etc.
Graduate Student Requirements:
If you are a May 1995 degree candidate and you do not have an Aggie ring from a prior
degree year, you may place an order for a ‘95 ring after you meet the following requirements:
1. Your degree is conferred and posted on the Texas A&M University Student Information
Management System; and
2. You are in good standing with the University, including no registration or transcript
blocks for past due fees, loans, parking tickets, returned checks, etc.
If you will complete all of your degree requirements prior to February 3, 1995, you may
request a “Letter of Completion” from the Office of Graduate Studies. The original letter of
completion may be presented to the Ring Office in lieu of your degree being posted.
Procedure To Order A Rina:
1. If you meet all of the above requirements, you must visit the Ring Office to complete the
application for eligibility verification. Although February 7, 1995 is the deadline to apply
for this ring order, it is highly recommended that you complete this process by
January 31.1995.
2. If your application is approved and you wish to receive your ring on April 18, 1995, you
must return and pay in full by cash, check, money order, or your personal Visa or
Mastercard (with your name imprinted) no later than February 10,1995.
Men’s 10KY-$308.00
14KY - $420.00
Women’s 10KY - $174.00
14KY-$203.00
Add $8.00 for Class of ‘94 or before.
The approximate date of the ring delivery is April 18, 1995.
Do You Worry Too Much?
Dr. Steven Strawn is seeking volunteers for a
2 - month research study of an
investigational medication for anxiety.
For more information call:
846 - 2050
Monday - Thursday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
STOREWIDE MUSIC SALE
$2— OFF New & Used CD’s*
now thru January 29th
CD EXCHANGE
2416 Texas Ave. So.
Kroger Center in C.S.
764-8751
^Excluding CD priced below $6*®
and items already sale priced.
STAFFORD OPERA HOUSE
I OOMSO
k. j c - » 7 »:x -:kt
CHRIS HIT ARTE
KOCICLiriE, 1 "What’s it like to be the greatest
guitarist in the world?”
EDDIE V7VM H7VLEIM: "I don’t know, ask CHRIS DUARTE...’
■ UTcTTTT
TIC3XKET I r\l I
I T 1 rs^i cn> r\i o xxv'
i FEBRUARY 20
ivjeo s-a<f>-oo i'7 r
Don’t
Worry
when an accident or
sudden illness occurs
CarePlus is open when you
need them 7 days a week
with affordable medical care.
CarePlus->rii
Family Medical Center
2411 Texas Ave. and
Southwest Pkwy.
693-0683
10% A&M student discount