fBk >ajuwon, Maxwell
rr > if making road trip
OUSTON (AP) — Hakeem
on and Vernon Maxwell, both
ing from iron deficient anemia,
not accompany the Houston
:s to Sacramento for Tuesday
game.
two players have missed three
:'xua: AH since they were diagnosed last
ith the ailment.
"Robert Horry, who left Saturday’s
5oi ime against Milwaukee after
a-.v filing his back, will make the four-
ad trip.
ker takes show
New York Giants
frav
EAST RUTHERFORD. N.J. (AP) —
ihf v.ifsct'el Walker might be more than a
re; Ird-down back and special teams
kyarfor the New York Giants in 1995
•a lot more.
^ lOn the day that Walker signed a
rae-year, $4.8 million contract with
Hi i (Hants, coach Dan Reeves said he
considering playing Walker and
y Hampton in the same backfield
ming season.
aven’t seen Herschel in the I
ition) since Dallas,” Reeves said
y in a telephone interview from
o, Fla. “He’s done some of that
and on, and that's basically where
)use Rodney."
Reeves said the idea of putting
! alker and Hampton in the same
Kkfleld intrigues him.
“IJust think it’s unlimited when a guy
orr jllhe ability to do the things Herschel
»s. You want to use his skills to
,,ij pit," he said.
more:.®!'.
tobinson chosen as
n« IBA Player of Week
545 NEW YORK (AP) — David
^ jjblnson, who led the San Antonio
an< Mrs to a 14-2 record during March,
a* sk.» been chosen the NBA’s player of
| inonth. He also was selected as
ll f c ' r lyer of the week for last week.
Robinson averaged 28.2 points,
alli‘rl.9 rebounds, 4.2 blocks, 2.9 assists
id 1.6 steals during the team’s 16
imes in March.
Last week, he averaged 29.8
)ints and 13 rebounds as the
>urs went 4-0.
ohnson trial hears
ilosing arguments
.
■ The Battalion • Page 5
mi w â–  r m
Dynamic duo blazing trails on court S„ r g“ s
â–¡ Learning to live with each other, Rico Rodarte
and Eric Horan are striving to succeed on and off
the tennis court.
By Jim Anderson
The Battalion
Tennis is a sport that people often associate with individual suc
cess. Such is not the case with the Texas A&M doubles team of Rico
Rodarte and Eric Horan.
This dynamic duo has blazed the way for the success of the A&M
men’s tennis team over the past two years.
“Coach Kent was skeptical when he first paired us as a doubles
team because of the fact that we had played together as freshmen
and had limited success,” said Horan. “However, when we reached
the semi-finals of the first tournament we played together, that
skepticism disappeared.”
One thing that leads to the duos success on the court is their re
lationship off the court. The fact
that they are roommates and
close friends has helped their
success on the tennis court.
“Your partner in doubles is
n't always someone that you get
along with,” Horan said. “This
is definitely not the case be
tween Rico and I because he is
someone that I greatly admire
and can turn to with problems
about anything.”
The two came from distinctly
different backgrounds to reach
this point. While Horan is from
Texas (Lake McQueeney), Ro
darte hails from Mexico City.
“When Eric first came here we
put aside the fact that we came from different backgrounds and
have formed a lasting friendship on and off the court,” Rodarte said.
“Not only is he my double partner but is also my close friend.
Another key aspect to their doubles success comes in the commu
nication that they perform on the court during a match. Certain
signs alert the other player what is going to happen and what the
opponents are going to do.
“We have hand signals that we use to communicate with each
other on the court,” Rodarte said. “Of course, we have played togeth
er for so long that we know most of the time what the other player
is going to do.”
See Tennis, Page 8
Robyn Calloway/The Battalion
Eric Horan returns a serve during match earlier this year.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) —
Doug Melvin and Johnny Oates
assembled the best replacement
team in American League, and
it hardly even matters. It’s
what they do next that counts.
Melvin, the xookie general
manager of the Texas Rangers,
and Oates, the team’s new man
ager, paxled ways with the fill-
ins Monday a few hours before
the subs were to have opened
the season against the New
York Yankees.
As soon as Melvin finished
his one-on-one meetings, he
seemed almost confused as he
tried changing his focus back
the big leaguers.
“I think we have — what is it?
— eight players signed,” Melvin
said. “It’s been a while since I
looked at our 40-man roster.”
The only names he'll find al
ready on dotted lines are the
few free agents he brought in
before the moratorium on sign
ings and a couple of players
with no other options.
Melvin expects to double or
triple the number of signed
players within the next few
days because so many players
don’t have enough time in the
majors to be eligible for arbitra
tion or free agency.
“There’s not going to be a
whole lot of negotiating,”
Melvin said. “It’s going to be,
‘Guys, this is what we have for
you to play for this year.’ I hope
we can make one phone call,
talk with each other and just go
forward and play ball.”
The most important order of
business is dealing with pitch
ers Kenny Rogers and John
Burkett, third baseman Dean
Palmer and All-Star catcher
Ivan Rodriguez.
Game on: real baseball is back
WACO(AP) — A jury heard
*ilng arguments Monday in the
eral trial of former Baylor
sketball coach Darrel Johnson,
, Jio is accused of helping several
i^tlior college recruits pass courses
c jcessary to enroll at Baylor.
1 Three former assistants also face
P wire fraud and conspiracy
larges with Johnson, who was
tticted in November, one day after
Sylor fired him because of the
eged irregularities.
Two junior college officials had
fced wire fraud charges, but U.S.
jstrict Judge Walter Smith Jr.
â– missed charges against them on
Way
After the prosecution rested Friday,
rneys for Jeanetta Hargrow of
elton State (Ala.) Community
liege and Humphrey Lee of
utheastern College of the
tsemblies of God in Lakeland, Fla.,
^ ade motions contending that the
h/ernment had failed to prove its
isa against their clients.
â–¡ Major leaguers are
already strolling into
spring training camps.
(AP) You knew the big lea
guers were back as soon as the
Rolls-Royce rolled into train
ing camp.
The strike was over and All-
Star Lou Whitaker had arrived
to play ball.
All over Monday, there were
signs the rest of baseball was
springing to life, too.
In Cincinnati, Reds owner
Marge Schott sounded a horn on
a fire truck that started the city’s
traditional opening day parade,
even though opening day is still
more than three weeks away.
In Florida and Arizona, play
ers began showing up for spring
training, even though camps
don’t officially open until
Wednesday.
Detroit manager Sparky An
derson, who left camp rather
than work with replacements,
was set to arrive Tuesday;
Toronto manager Cito Gaston,
who had been coaching minor
leaguers, prepared to take over
the real Blue Jays.
In Baltimore and Boston, fans
lined up outside Camden Yards
and Fenway Park to buy tickets,
and the Minnesota Twins offered
them at half-price.
President Clinton even said
he might throw out the first
ball, something he said he
wouldn’t do if replacements
were on the field.
“We’ve been waiting for today
for a long time,” Boston Red Sox
manager Kevin Kennedy said at
camp in Fort Myers, Fla.
spokesman Chuck Schupp said.
“We still have plenty to make.”
Even bigger is the issue of
800 unsigned players and 200
free agents.
Dennis Eckersley became the
first player to make a deal since
the 232-day strike ended, re-sign
ing with the Oakland Athletics.
Several swaps are close — the
Montreal Expos expect to trade
either Marquis Grissom, Ken Hill
or John Wetteland this week,
while St. Louis may
send Mark Whiten to
Boston for Scott
Cooper.
“There’s going to
. be good deals avail-
— Kevin Kennedy able,” Montreal gen-
Boston Red Sox manager Mi'oSfsMd 6 ’’ KeVm
The
No last minute heroics
for Arkansas this time
"We've been waiting for today
for a long time."
“We're already prepared,” he
said. “It’s going to be fun now.”
And hectic.
With exhibition games sup
posed to start April 13 and the
opening day set for April 26,
there’s plenty of work to do and
not much time to do it.
The folks at Louisville Slug
ger are scrambling to fill new or
ders for 6,000 bats that major
league teams need right away.
“It’s nuts in here today,”
situation
with the umpires is equally un
settled. They were locked out by
owners Jan. 1 because of a con
tract dispute, and amateur fill-
ins called the replacement
games.
“I don’t think there’s any
question that now that the regu
lar major leaguers are back, it’s
more likely we will be able to
make a deal,” said Bob Opalka,
an associate of umpires’ union
head Richie Phillips.
arship tests true heart of athletes
Robert
Rodriquez
il L "" Jl
SpORTSWRITER III
very high school ath
lete dreams about
one. A few get some
and those who do not, are
’tC^left with the thought of why
they did not get an athletic
scholarship.
As every college coach
frill tell you, athletic schol
arship are hard to get these
days. Not only are they hard for the athlete
to get, but also, the athletic programs are
having trouble with the NCAA reducing the
her of scholarships.
Nowadays, in order to get an athletic
scholarship, one must run a three-second
40-yard dash time, bench press a house,
and have not a single scratch on their body
from a surgeon.
I
This points to an obvious
question. Should someone
who has not received a schol
arship just give up on their
dream or should they try to
pursue on making the team
and maybe get that scholar
ship later on?
Some would say to just to
give up because of the risk of
embarrassing oneself and because coaches
only choose the walk-ons they have already
contacted. Some just flat out believe the
teams are set with their scholarship players
and they will not choose anybody.
Then there are those who can not take no
for an answer. Those are the ones who are at
Deware every night or doing push-ups and
sit-ups in their room on a Friday night. They
want to make sure they are at peak perfor
mance when the tryout date comes. Those
are the ones pursuing their dream.
An example of this happened when foot
ball tryouts were held last month. A friend
of mine decided he wanted to tryout for the
football team. Not only did he lift at Deware
almost every night, but he cut back on his
partying on the weekends and ate all that
healthy food that looked like it still had
roots and dirt from where it was picked.
He didn’t play any other sports because
he was afraid of getting injured and ruining
his chances. Everything had to be perfect
for that tryout day. All those sacrifices paid
off as he made the football team.
Even though he still has some more cuts
See Scholarship, Page 8
â–¡ Ed O'Bannon and
Toby Bailey come up
big for UCLA despite
Tyus Edney's abscence.
SEATTLE (AP) — With its
starting point guard on the bench
and its greatest coach in the
stands, UCLA won its first na
tional championship in 20 years
and kept Arkansas from joining
the select list of repeaters.
The top-ranked Bruins won
their record 11th NCAA title
Monday night with an 89-78
victory that was even more im
pressive considering senior
Tyus Edney was limited to 2 1/2
minutes because of a sprained
right wrist.
Ed O’Bannon
stepped up as he
was supposed to,
but so did fresh
man Toby Bailey
and Cameron
Dollar, Edney’s
replacement. It
all meant the
first title for the
school since
1975, when John
Wooden, who sat
quietly in the
stands of the Kingdome, won the
last of 10 in a 12-year span.
For Arkansas, it was the end
of a tournament run of close fin
ishes and it ended one game
short of becoming the second re
peat champion since Wooden’s
Bruins won seven in a row, end
ing in 1973.
The Razorbacks had come to
rely on its great defense and
great player, Corliss Williamson,
in the second half, but neither
was there against UCLA.
O'Bannon scored 30 points
and had 16 rebounds in a game
that certified his All-America
credentials. Bailey, who had
struggled to a l-for-2, two-point
outing in the semifinals, fin
ished with 26 points and nine
rebounds. And Dollar, the
backup point guard who played
in the shadow of the lightning
quick Edney, came up with
eight assists.
Williamson, who was 9-for-l2
in the second half of the semifi
nal win over North Carolina, fin
ished 3-for-l6 from the field
against the Bruins, including a
1-for-10 effort in the second half.
Instead of the Razorbacks
swarming and defending as they
had all tournament in the latter
stages of the game, it was the
Bruins who managed to hold
Arkansas without a field goal for
a 4:47 stretch that ended with
Williamson’s first basket of the
second half with 2:25 to play.
That made it 77-68 and the
Razorbacks were out of the last-
minute miracles they had man
aged in the early
rounds.
The Bruins
built a 65-53
lead with
11:27 left on
a rebound
basket by
Bailey.
Arkansas
managed to
get within 67-
64 on a free
throw by
Williamson with 5:22 left, but
O'Bannon hit a jump hook, Bai
ley scored on yet another re
bound and O’Bannon and Dollar
each made two free throws and
Bailey scored again and the lead
was again 12 with 3:13 left.
Clint McDaniel led Arkansas
with 16 points, while Willamson
had 12 and Scotty Thurman, the
hero of last year’s title win over
Duke with a last-minute 3-
pointer, had five points on 2-for-
9 shooting.
UCLA extended its lead in
the title run, with Kentucky and
Indiana second on the list with
five each. The Bruins are 11-1 in
championship games and this
was their first without Wooden
in front of the bench, rolled-up
program in hand.
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