Thursday • April 13, 1995
SPORTS
Women’s basketball
team signs forward
Brenda Beard, a 5-10 small
forward from Temple, signed a
national letter of intent to play
basketball for Texas A&M yesterday.
“Brenda is a great athlete at a
position where we’ve been
somewhat lacking in numbers,”
A&M women’s basketball Candi
Harvey said. "She comes from a
great, successful program and
knows what it takes to win.”
Beard averaged 15.1 points, 7.2
rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.6 assists
per game during her three-year career.
Montana to announce
retirement Tuesday
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Joe will
go. On Tuesday.
Joe Montana, perhaps the best
quarterback in NFL history, will
announce his retirement in San
Francisco that day and follow with
a news conference in Kansas City
on Wednesday.
International Management Group,
the firm that represents Montana,
announced only that a news
conference in San Francisco will be
held, but a source at the agency
said it would be Montana’s long-
speculated retirement.
Chiefs president Carl Peterson did
everything but confirm that Montana’s
career is over.
“I will make this statement — that
we will have a press conference here
next Wednesday, probably at 10 a.m.,
specific to the status of Joe Montana,”
he said.
Foreman challenges
Tyson to title figbt
HOUSTON (AP) — George
Foreman accused Mike Tyson of
‘‘hiding from a 46-year-old man”
Wednesday and issued a public
challenge to the newly freed former
heavyweight champion.
‘‘The word now,” the IBF
heavyweight champion said, ‘‘is
come fight.”
Foreman, meeting with reporters to
pronounce himself ready for an April 22
title defense against Axel Schulz of
Germany, said he contacted Tyson in
prison to set up a $100 million title fight.
But Tyson declined the offer,
which would have resulted in a $50
million paycheck for each fighter.
Foreman said.
‘‘Mike Tyson was afraid of a 46-
year-old man,” Foreman said. “Fifty-
million bucks Tyson could make right
now ... Tyson is hiding.”
LA Rams make
move to St. Louis
IRVING, Texas (AP) — The Rams
will play in St. Louis this year after all.
A month after barring their move
from Southern California, owners voted
23-6 on Wednesday to relocate the
Rams to St. Louis, the first time an NFL
team has left the West Coast.
“The game is over and I won’t say
we won but ... well, I guess we won
one,” Rams owner Georgia Frontiere
said. “I think we all won.”
The Rams agreed to pay $30
million to the league to get the owners
to reverse a 21-3 vote at the meetings
last month in Phoenix. The 23 votes
Wednesday was the minimum needed.
But commissioner Paul Tagliabue
said the reversal, which will leave the
NFC West with only one team west of
St. Louis, was more an attempt to
avoid a lawsuit than about the money.
“The decision to have peace and
not to have war was a big factor,”
Tagliabue said.
The move also is apparently tied to
the construction of a stadium for the
Los Angeles Raiders at Hollywood
Park, which would guarantee an NFL
franchise in the area. The Raiders, who
moved from Oakland in 1982, had
been hinting they might move, and NFL
owners worried over not having a team
in the nation’s No. 2 market.
The Battalion • Page 9
look to
keep Bears in
□ First-place A&M
team tries to
extend its lead in
SWC race.
By Tom Day
The Battalion
Three weeks ago, the Texas
A&M baseball team was head
ing nowhere in a hurry.
Plagued by inconsistent hitting
and pitching, the Aggies were
drifting aimlessly with
a subpar record and a lack
of confidence.
But, two series sweeps and
ten consecutive wins later, the
team has a new destination:
the top of the Southwest Con
ference standings.
Roger Hsieh/TnE Battalion
Chad Alexander is tagged out by an SWTSU player. A&M is playing Baylor at Waco Friday and a
double-header against Baylor Saturday at Olsen Field.
SWC hibernation
“It’s totally different now,”
junior first baseman Jeff Bailey
said. “I remember in this (win
ning) streak, we’ve been down
a couple of times, but you
could tell the team's confidence
wasn’t down.
“We still knew we were going
to come back and win, and I
think it all goes back to the
pitching. They’re not walking as
many people and we’re not mak
ing as many errors and when
you do that, you’ve got a chance
to win.”
The Aggies (27-13-1, 7-4 in
the SWC) are currently in first
place in the conference by per
centage points, but will
look to grab sole pos
session of the top
spot this weekend
against Baylor.
The team will
travel to Waco for the
series opener Friday
at 7 p.m. and then will
return home to host the
Bears in a double-head
er Saturday at 4 p.m.
Olsen Field.
Baylor defeated A&M 6-4 in a
SWC First Pitch tournament
game March 16.
“Everybody’s pretty pumped
up to get back into conference
this weekend,” junior pitcher
Dean Mitchell said. “Baylor
beat us in the First Pitch tour
nament, so hopefully we’ve
got a little something to
show them.”
Baylor (20-15, 5-6 in the
SWC) enters the weekend series
on an offensive tear. The Bears
scored 37 runs last week in a se
ries split against Rice.
“(Baylor) is starting to hit
the ball better,” head coach
Mark Johnson said. “We
played them four weeks ago
and they were scrappers.
“Apparently, they’re punching
the ball pretty good, so it will be
a tough series.”
Johnson said the team’s im
proved hitting over the last 10
games has encouraged better
pitching from his staff.
“It’s easier to pitch when the
offense is hitting,” Johnson
said. “You’re scared to death
to give up a run if no
one is hitting. “But if
you can pitch with a
five or six run
lead, it’s a little
bit easier to
throw strikes.”
Mitchell said the
winning streak has
built up the team’s
confidence.
There’s a lot more confi
dence on the field right now,”
Mitchell said. “Last week, we
got behind early (against Sam
Houston) and nobody said a
word. We just took care of busi
ness, came back and ended up
winning by eight runs.”
“We’re entering the Baylor
series in a lot better fashion
than we would have been three
weeks ago,” Johnson said.
“I feel good about that and I
think the guys feel good about
it, too.”
FCA fields it own ‘team’
T ^he word
“team” is of
ten associ
ated with foot
ball, basketball,
baseball or an
other sport that
requires the ef
fort of more than
one individual to
win the game.
The Fellowship of Christian
Athletes is a team for athletes
involved in all sports who have
the common desire to win on
the court and off.
FCA president Chris
Kazmierski said the organiza
tion gives athletes an opportu
nity to display their athletic tal
ents for other purposes than
just winning.
“FCA gives athletes an op
portunity to glorify God on the
field,” Kazmierski said. “It also
gives them a chance for fellow
ship with other athletes.”
FCA, which started as an
organization at Texas A&M
in 1976, encourages athletes
and coaches to receive Jesus
Christ as Savior and exemplT
fy that relationship in all ar
eas of their lives.
“Whether you are a water-
boy, trainer or player, FCA en
courages you to do it for Christ
and glorify him with those tal
ents,” Kazmierski said.
From the testimony of one
who’s been on the field of play
with other athletes involved in
FCA, I remember Heidi Kryger,
a senior animal science major,
who ran track at Plano.
I received valuable encour
agement from her as we ran 10
400-meter sprints with a
minute rest in between.
Kryger’s example as an athlete
has stuck with me.
Kryger said
FCA gave her
opportunities
to share her
life as an ath
lete.
“Since ath
letes in gener
al are role
models to kids
and adults, FCA gives them an
opportunity to share their lives
with others,” Kryger said.
Kryger said the lessons she
learned in FCA were invaluable
to her as an athlete and person.
“Pressing on to the high call
of Christ in life can be related
to finishing a race,” Kryger
said. “Being in FCA didn’t
make me run faster, it sharp
ened me and made me better
both mentally and physically.”
FCA is about keeping things
in perspective, especially in this
“winning is everything” society
that we live in. Kryger said she
learned how to keep things in
perspective on the athletic field
and in other areas of her life.
“FCA helped me put every
thing in perspective,” Kryger
said. “It taught me how to win
like a winner and lose like a
winner.”
Many famous athletes have
treasured the lessons taught by
organizations like FCA.
People like Tom Landry and
Bill Bates have had a great im
pact on the lives of other ath
letes trying to obtain the same
goals they had. The high goals
they had and obtained came
from the desire to win in the
game and in life.
The true victory they share
is the fellowship they receive
with other athletes who share
their goals and have the same
desire to win in life.
Huffman chooses A&M, baseball
Photographer/THE Battalion
Junior outfielder Ryan Huffman prepares to
steal third base.
□ After a two-year stint
at LSU, centerfielder
comes home to Texas.
By Shelly Hall
The Battalion
For junior outfielder Ryan
Huffman, the road to becoming
an Aggie baseball player re
quired that he wear a
Louisiana State University
football jersey first.
Huffman, who transferred to
A&M after playing football and
baseball for two years at LSU,
said he came to A&M because
he wanted to come back
to Texas.
“I wanted to come back to
Texas,” Huffman said. “I’ve al
ways loved A&M. I wanted to
come here when I was little.”
Huffman said he started
playing baseball at an early
age and attended baseball
camp at A&M.
“I started when I was about
four-years-old,” Huffman said.
“Growing up, I always loved
baseball. I came to baseball
camp here when I was a sopho
more in high school.”
Since transferring, Huffman
said he has been able to make
an impact on the Aggie base
ball team.
“I feel, fielding wise, I’m able
to get a good jump on the ball in
the center,” Huffman said. “I’m
able to add a little power to the
team and I can hit the ball out
of the park.”
Huffman said he is constantly
looking to improve his game to
get better.
“You’re always looking to
improve yourself,” Huffman
said. “I’m not close to where I
want to be.”
Huffman said
his role on the
team is to help the
team any way
he can.
“Playing good
defense and mak
ing plays out
in the field is my
first role,” Huff
man said. “Second,
they’ve got me
hitting fourth or
fifth in the line
up. I just need
to produce in
those areas.”
Huffman said
he had a chance to
play for the Pitts
burgh Pirates in
the after being
drafted in 1991
but football led
him to LSU.
“Football was a
factor in that deci
sion,” Huffman
said. “I didn’t like
the round I was
picked in, so that
drew me away.”
Huffman said he
wants to win an
other national
championship be
fore his collegiate
career is over.
“My motivation
is to win a championship,” Huff
man said. “At LSU, we won the
national championship in 1993.
I want to get back there.”
Huffman said he has ob
tained one goal he set for him
self at the beginning of the sea
son and still has more he wants
to capture.
“Personally, I wanted to get
player of the week,” Huffman
said. “I got that, so now I would
like to make All-South
west Conference.”
Huffman said he has high ex
pectations for this year’s base
ball team.
“Hopefully, we’re in Omaha
at the end of the seagon,” Huff
man said. “That’s my goal and
everybody’s goal to end up
in Omaha.”
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