Concentration leads to Mitchell s success
Refer M*ieh/tMt= Battalibn
Pitcher Dean Mitchell In his first season at A&M ranks third on the
team for strikeouts with 25 and boasts a 3.32 ERA.
Fond farewell to Montana
Tuesday- • April 18, 1995
A&M baseball team
signs two recruits
The Texas A&M baseball team
announced the signing of shortstop
Ryan Matthews and first baseman
John Scheshuck, two of the top
Houston area high school products.
Matthews is a two-year starter at
Bellaire High School. He was a key
member of the 1994 Class 5A state
championship team and earned All-
State honors.
Scheshuck was the District 23-5A
MVP for Dobie High School.
Scheshuck is currently batting .500
this season.
“We’re extremely pleased these
young men selected Texas A&M
University,” Texas A&M coach Mark
Johnson said. “There’s no question
both players can come in and
contribute.”
Gretzky first NHL
player to score 2,500
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Wayne
Gretzky became the first player in NHL
history to record 2,500 career points
when he set up a power-play goal by
Rob Blake on Monday night.
Gretzky is the league’s all-time
leader with 813 goals, 1,687 assists
and 10 scoring titles. Th.e 16-year
veteran has 650 more points than
runner-up Gordie Howe, who ended
his Hall of Fame career in 1980 after
26 NHL seasons.
On the historic point, the Los
Angeles Kings superstar passed from
the sideboards to Blake at the poinL
Blake's slap shot hit Flames
gealtendei- Riek Tabaracci ih the
ghest and thekled in at 11:01 of the
first period.
The goal tied the game 1-1.
Gretzky broke Howe’s point-scoring
record of 1,850 on Oct. 15, 1989 at
Edmonton with a goal against Bill
Ranford, and eclipsed Howe’s goal
scoring mark of 801 on March 23 of
last season at the Los Angeles Forum
against Vancouver’s Kirk McLean.
Gretzky and Pittsburgh’s Mario
Lemieux are the only players to
average two points per game
throughout their NHL careers.
Rockets beat LA
Clippers, 121-111
HOUSTON (AP) — Hakeem
Olajuwon scored 30 points and didn’t
miss a field goal until the fourth quarter
Monday night as Houston beat the Los
Angeles Clippers in The Summit for
the 17th straight time, 121-111.
The victory pulled the Rockets,
currently in the No. 6 playoff
position, within one game of the
No. 5 Los Angles Lakers in the
Western Conference.
The Clippers haven’t won a game
in The Summit since a 104-97 victory
on Nov. 6, 1986.
Olajuwon hit his first 11 shots of
the game and didn’t miss until his
first shot in the fourth quarter. He
finished 14-for-18 in his third game
since recovering from iron-
deficiency anemia.
Terry Dehere led the Clippers
with 23 points and Eric Piatkowski
scored 19.
Dallas Stars tie
Canucks 2-2
DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Stars
and Vancouver Canucks finished their
regular-season series as equal as two
teams can be.
Kevin Hatcher scored with 10:48 to
go in regulation and the Stars tied the
Canucks 2-2 Monday night in a battle
for Western Conference playoff
positioning. It was produced the fourth
tie in as many meetings between the
Stars and Canucks, with each team
scoring eight goals. Never in Stars
team history has a season series
resulted in nothing but ties.
□ Many of Joe's friends
and colleagues will gath
er to celebrate his retire
ment from football.
(AP) - Eddie DeBartolo will be
there, ready to cry at the drop of
a Super Bowl ring. So will Ron-
rde Lott, Dwight Clark and a lot
of the other San Francisco 49ers
who helped Joe Montana bring
San Francisco four titles.
Guess who else is likely to
show up at Montana’s retire
ment party? Steve Young, the
quarterback who forced 49ers
owner DeBartolo to ship Joe out
of town.
Yes, the same Young who fi
nally established himself in San
Francisco when the 49ers won
their fifth Super Bowl in January.
The same Young who had six
touchdown passes in the game to
break Montana’s record by one.
But Tuesday will be Mon
tana’s Day, likely to be far more
emotional than the day five
summers from now in Canton,
Ohio, when Montana’s automat
ic induction into the pro football
Hall of Fame is made official.
For in a city where being dif
ferent is an art form, an ordi
nary guy named Joe brought the
city four NFL titles in nine sea
sons and is without question its
most popular citizen.
And if, in fact, Montana left
his heart in San Francisco dur
ing his two seasons in Kansas
City, it’s also true that San
Francisco’s heart went with him.
“I don’t feel weird about Joe’s
retirement because I was hoping
it would come a little sooner. It
was so hard to watch him play
somewhere else,” says Clark,
who made “The Catch” after
“The Throw” in the 1981 NFC ti
tle game to start the 49ers on
their Super Bowl run.
While Lott, Clark, Jerry Rice,
Roger Craig and many others
made major contributions, those
first four titles were regarded in
the San Francisco area as “prop
erty of Joe Montana.”
So if various friends and rela
tives from Montana’s first home
town, Monongahela, Pa., will be
there along with the brass from
the Chiefs, with whom he ended
his career, this is San Francis
co’s treat.
Montana’s agents. Internation
al Management Group, made
that clear when they organized
the celebration, leaving Wednes
day as the day for a second, low
er-key tribute in Kansas City.
The official announcement will
come at noon in Justin Herman
Square, and among the guests
will be mayor Frank Jordan and
Huey Lewis, the official rock
singer of the 49ers who stopped
singing the national anthem be
fore Niners’ games about the time
Montana left town.
Then comes a luncheon that
will include DeBartolo and all
those former 49ers’ teammates,
including, apparently Young,
with whom Montana’s relations
were cool at best during their
years together but have warmed
up since.
Q Transfer student
gains confidence with
five consecutive wins.
By Kristina Buffin
The Battalion
Texas A&M pitcher Dean.
Mitchell has acquired a nick
name in his first season with the
Aggies, Forrest Gump. His
teammates are not referring to a
lack of intelligence but to
Mitchell’s ability to work hard
and go all out.
“He is the hardest worker,”
Texas A&M pitching coach Jim
Lawler said. “He forces the oth
er pitchers to work as hard as
he does.”
Mitchell transferred to A&M
this season after playing at
Navarro Junior College for two
years. He opted to attend Navar
ro to build up experience before
entering a four-year program.
“I had the opportunity to play
straight out of high school when
I went to a junior college,”
Mitchell said. “Playing for a JC,
I got to go straight into the rota
tion. If I went to a four year
school I would not have had the
chance to play as much.”
In his sophomore year,
Mitchell helped lead Navarro to
the conference championship
and was named all-conference.
The transition to A&M was
diffieuit for Miteheli at firstj but
his fearlv sueeess has given him
the confidence needed to become
part of the starting rotation.
"I was kind of scared at first
because this is such a big
school,” Mitchell said. “I wasn’t
sure if I could pitch at this level,
so you could say I wasn’t really
overconfident. I’ve gained some
confidence but I am still anxious
before every game. But now I
know that I can get people out
instead of hoping I can.”
Mitchell is serious about his
game and is always working to
improve his pitches.
“He has fit in very well,” Texas
A&M coach Mark Johnson said.
“He is real quiet but is a quality
player. He is a good competitor
who has focus and concentrates.
He gives his maximum effort and
is not a fly by night player, he is
very strong mentally.”
Mitchell has entered the ro
tation with the ability to start
or relieve.
“He has done a good job in
the last four months, he has
definitely gotten better,”
Lawler said. “He is more re
laxed, sometimes he is his own
worst enemy. He is learning to
trust his stuff. It was a big
transition for him but his
pitches are good enough, he is
throwing more strikes and not
walking as many people.”
While Mitchell had his prob
lems earlier this season, he has
won his last five games and
boasts a 3.32 ERA.
“I think we were the culprits
earlier this season,” Johnson
said. "We tried to change too
much and be didn't throw as
well. But you have to take one
step back before you can take
two steps forward. His confi
dence has risen and he has had
See Mitchell, Page 1 0
A&M women
athletes
honored at
banquet
By Nick Georgandis
The Battalion
Congratulations and honors
were plentiful Monday night at
the 1995 Texas A&M Women’s
Athletic Banquet held at the
College Station Hilton.
Senior Associate Athletic Di
rector Lynn Hickey gave out
compliments to everyone in
volved in the athletic program.
“Everyone here is responsible
for all those wins at those
games and meets, “ Hickey said.
“People on the outside don’t un
derstand all the work and effort
that’s put in, they only see the
wins and losses.”
All seniors regardless of
sport received a custom Aggie
music box from Roger Books
from San Angelo. Besides the
honoring of the seniors, most of
the coaches gave out their own
team awards.
First up was the soccer team,
which compiled al5-3-l record
including a 10-0 run to cap the
regular season. Head coach G.
Guerrieri gave out of the Offen
sive Most Valuable Player
award to Kristen Koop, next
year's captain and Defensive
Most Valuable Player to Allison
Buekley, the team’s sweeper.
The T§*ae A&M volleyball
team enjoyed a fine season, fin
ishing second in the Southwest
Conference and receiving an
See Banquet, Page 10
Home team favoritism not for everyone
U sually, when people
live in a town which
has a professional
sports team they root for
that team because they
represent their city. Espe
cially, when this team wins
a championship.
Take for instance all
the people who jumped on
the Cowboys bandwagon when they won the
Super Bowls or on the Rockets carriage when
they won the NBA Championship.
While playing hockey at Reunion Arena last
Sunday with some friends someone asked me
why I did not like any of the professional
sports teams in Dallas, even though I live
there. I had many reasons.
Dallas Cowboys - Of all the professional
sports teams around, this is the team I root
against the most. Don’t get me wrong, I like
some of the personalities on the team that
make them enjoyable to watch.
It’s just that there are people in the organi
zation who make them so lovable to hate. I love
it when Jerry Jones jacks up the ticket prices
to a point where you have to ask for a loan at a
bank in order to go watch a game. Or when
Leon Lett does his usual bloopers with the
football. Like every other Cowboys hater, I like
it when the star on the helmet doesn’t look
so shiny.
Even though the Cowboys are “America’s
Team,” my two favorite football teams are the
Chicago Bears and whoever plays “da boys.”
Dallas Stars - When the Stars moved to Dal
las from Minnesota in 1993, I couldn’t wait to
to go see the games. Not to see the Stars, but
just to see hockey. As a product from Chicago,
hockey was a major sport and the then Min
nesota North Stars were their chief rivals.
Even though the location has changed, the ri
valry between the Stars and the Blackhawks
has intensified to a different level.
I have to admit I like the Stars’ jer
sey, but that’s it. As a Blackhawk fan,
I have to root against the Stars. I am
glad Dallas has a hockey team, be
cause now I can watch the Blackhawks
play the Stars.
Texas Rangers - As a White Sox fan,
I used to always go to the Ranger games
when they would host the men in black.
I did like some of the Rangers last year
and the new ballpark. I have always been a fan
of Jose Canseco, regardless if the pitcher was
Jack McDowell or Alex Fernandez. I liked seeing
him tee off on them.
This is another example of a bitter rivalry
between two teams. The Rangers and the
White Sox are in different divisions, but their
rivalry is still bitter even after the Nolan
Ryan-Robin Ventura squabble. 1 have been a
White Sox fan ever since the days of Carlton
Fisk and Ron Kittle and I will always be one.
Dallas Mavericks - Of the teams in the Dal-
la^/Fort Worth area, this is my favorite team.
The Mavericks are going to be a strong team in
the years to come and it will be fun watching
Jason Kidd dishing the ball off to Jamal Mash-
burn and Jim Jackson.
Even though I have been a Chicago Bull fan
even before the Jordan era, I see the Mavericks
as a good prospect to three-peat as World Cham
pions just like the Bulls did. The Mavericks are
my favorite basketball team in the Western Con
ference and I hope someday they will bring an
NBA championship to the “Big D.”
It’s not hard to figure out that I am a Chicago
sports freak. I like every professional sports team
in Chicago, including the Cubbies. I just five in the
wrong city to be rooting for those teams.
Regardless of which team you hate or love,
the most important thing is to have fun at the
games by rooting for your favorite team.
Whether it’s the Aggies or the Quebec
Nordiques, you should never be ashamed of who
you root for, even if it is not the home team.
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