The Battalion • Page 3
Wednesday • July 12, 1995
Former Baylor ]\[l power dooms AL in All-Star Game
let -L
AP Photo
Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Roberto Alomar and his American League teammates came up short in
Tuesday's All-Star Game. The National League defeated the Junior Circuit 3-2 at The Ballpark in Arlington.
accusations fly
WACO, Texas (AP) — Past
Baylor assistant coaches say
former men’s basketball coach
Darrel Johnson was involved
in a recruiting scandal at the
school, even though a jury ac
quitted him of the charges.
Former Johnson assistants
Kevin Gray and Gary Thomas,
who were sentenced last week
for their part in the scandal,
say Johnson condoned the
cheating.
In a deposition recently giv
en to Baylor officials. Gray re
calls a statement he made to
Johnson and Thomas about
the cheating.
“I’m telling you guys some
thing,” Gray says. “If anybody
ever looks at this stuff, they
are going to throw us under
neath the jail.”
Last week, U.S. District
Judge Walter Smith, Jr.,
placed Gray and Thomas and
former Baylor assistant Troy
Drummond on three years of
probation for their part in giv
ing five junior college recruits
term papers and changing the
players’ test scores in 1993.
The same jury that convict
ed them of conspiracy, wire
fraud and mail fraud acquitted
Johnson.
But a different picture
emerges in depositions given
by Gray and Thomas as part of
an ongoing NCAA investiga
tion of the scandal.
Thomas says the cheating
“was always discussed in
meetings” with Johnson.
“We always reported back to
him,” he said. “He was my
boss and he was telling me
what to do.”
Thomas said that Johnson
once ordered him to check the
answers that recruit Tyrone
Davis had given on correspon
dence test from Southeastern
College of the Assemblies of
God in Lakeland, Fla.
“He missed half the an
swers,” Thomas said. “So basi
cally what I did was went in
and just wrote down the cor
rect answers” on a blank an
swer sheet to mail in for grad-
ing.
“He (Johnson) just said ‘You
know, that’s probably the right
thing to do,’ ” Thomas said.
Johnson was unavailable
for comment. His lawyer, Jim
Darnell, said it’s important to
note that the depositions were
given before the men were sen
tenced. None of the men took
the stand during the trial.
Darnell said Baylor officials
made a deal with the men to
implicate Johnson in turn for
the school writing Judge
Smith a letter supporting pro
bation.
“Here were three decent,
regular human beings who had
never been faced with any
thing like this and who were
scared to death of going to
prison,” he said. “Baylor went
to them and said ... ‘You help
us and we’ll help you.’ If you
were Baylor, would you be
afraid ... of a wrongful dis
missal lawsuit” by Johnson?
Baylor officials have re
peatedly declined to discuss
the case.
But even Smith has hinted
that Johnson might have
known more than was re
vealed at trial.
In addressing a prosecution
request for a longer sentence
than called for under federal
sentencing guidelines for
Thomas last week, Smith
said: “If any person would be
entitled to an enhancement ...
that person’s not here.”
□ The Astros' Craig Big-
gio blasted a solo home
run in the sixth inning.
ARLINGTON (AP) — Hideo
Nomo began the game with a
poignant bow, to his teammates
and to the troubled national pas
time. Jeff Conine, Mike Piazza
and Craig Biggio won it with
pure power.
What started as a strikeout
duel between Nomo and Randy
Johnson turned into home-run
derby, with Conine’s solo shot in
the eighth inning Tuesday night
giving the National League a 3-2
victory in the All-Star game.
All of the runs scored on
homers, highlighted by Frank
Thomas’ monster drive for the
Americans in the fourth, and
all of the Nationals’ hits were
home runs.
Yet even this relatively enter
taining game — which baseball
hoped would help rejuventate in
terest in a sagging sport — was
touched by reminders of the la
bor problems that soured its fans
last season.
Thomas’ home run landed in
a luxury box in left field that
was rented for the day by, of all
organizations, the Players’ Asso
ciation. The ball eventually came
to rest in the hands of union
head Donald Fehr’s 9-year-old
nephew, Alex.
And, right after Thomas —
the home-run derby champion in
Monday’s workouts and a fan fa
vorite — homered, he exited the
game. He had to leave because
his Chicago White Sox play
Wednesday, part of the rejig-
gered schedule that cut short the
All-Star break.
Still, the crowd of 50,920, the
largest in the two-year history
of The Ballpark in Arlington,
seemed to enjoy the show.
About 110 spectators, however,
had to seek treatment at first-
aid stations because of the 96-
degree heat.
Among those not at the park
was Mickey Mantle, who was in
vited by baseball to attend. Man
tle made his first public appear
ance since recent liver trans
plant surgery on Tuesday after
noon in nearby Dallas, but said
he was too weak to watch in per
son and would instead tune in
on television.
Conine, the only position
player who did not get into last
year’s All-Star game, homered
on the second pitch he saw. Bat
ting for Ron Gant, he connected
against loser Steve Ontiveros.
Heathcliff Slocumb escaped
first-and-second jam in the sev
enth by striking out Ivan Ro
driguez and Jim Edmonds, and
was the winner. Randy Myers
pitched the ninth for a save.
The victory gave the NL its
first two-game winning streak
since 1984-85. The total of four
home runs was the most
since 1981.
Conine, Florida’s lone repre
sentative, was the game’s MVP
as the National League ran its
record to 39-26-1 in the game.
Carlos Baerga, one of six Cleve
land players in the game, dou
bled and singled twice.
That 1981 event, which start
ed the second half of a strike-
split season, marked the last
time a rookie started the All-
Star game. That time it was Fer
nando Valenzuela, whose eyes-
to-the-sky delivery captivated all
of the baseball.
This time, it was Nome’s turn.
Baseball, meanwhile, hoped this
Los Angeles rookie, the first
Japanese participant in an All-
Star game, could similarly put
the buzz back into the sport.
From the start, Nomo was the
showcase player. For the first
time since anyone could remem
ber, a starting pitcher was not
warming up when he was intro
duced. Instead, Nomo emerged
from the dugout, trotted to the
plate, and then went down the
third-base line, bowing to each of
the NL starters.
Baseball said it specifically
asked Nomo to come out and
take a bow, so to speak, because
he’s been the brightest light in
the game this year. After receiv
ing a nice ovation, he went to the
bullpen and began loosening up
with his slo-mo, back-to-the-
plate windup.
Nome’s motion, along with a 94
mph fastball and darting forkball,
baffled the AL stars the same way
he’s blown away NL hitters this
season. Nomo, leading his league
in strikeouts, pitched two score
less innings and struck out Kenny
Lofton, Edgar Martinez and Al
bert Belle.
NL 3, AL 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE AMERICAN LEAGUE
ab r
h
bi
ab
r
h
bi
Dykstr cf
2
0
0
0
Lofton cf
3
0
0
0
Sosa cf
1
0
0
0
Edmns cf
1
0
0
0
TGwyn rf
2
0
0
0
Baerga 2b
3
1
3
0
RSndrs rf
1
0
0
0
RAImr 2b
1
0
0
0
Mndsi rf
1
0
0
0
EMrtnz dh
3
0
0
0
Bonds If
3
0
0
0
TMrtnz dh
1
0
1
0
Bchette If
1
0
0
0
Thmas 1b
2
1
1
2
Piazza c
3
1
1
1
MVghn 1b
2
0
0
0
Daulton c
0
0
0
0
Belle If
3
0
0
0
McGrff 1b
3
0
0
0
O'Neill If
1
0
0
0
Grace 1b
0
0
0
.0
CRpken ss
3
0
2
0
Gant dh
2
0
0
0
DSrcna ss
1
0
0
0
Conine dh
1
1
1
1
Boggs 3b
2
0
1
0
Larkin ss
3
0
0
0
Seltzer 3b
2
0
0
0
Offrmn ss
0
0
0
0
Puckett rf
2
0
0
0
Castilla 3b
2
0
0
0
MRmrz rf
0
0
0
0
Bonilla 3b
1
0
0
0
IRdrgz c
3
0
0
0
Biggio 2b
Mrndni 2b
2
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
Stanley c
1
0
0
0
Totals
29 3
3
3
Totals
34
2
8
2
National 000 001 110-3
American 000 200 000 - 2
LOB-Amerlcan 7. 2B—Baerga (1). HR—Piazza (1),
Conine (1), Biggie (1), Thomas (1). SB—RAIomar (1).
CS—Dykstra (1), Baerga (1).
IP H R ER BB SO
National
Nomo
2
1
0
0
0
3
Smiley
2
2
2
2
0
0
TGreen
1
2
0
0
0
1
Neagle
1
1
0
0
0
1
CPerez
1-3
1
0
0
1
0
Slocumb W,1-0
1
1
0
0
0
2
Henke
2-3
0
0
0
0
1
Myers S,1
1
0
0
0
1
0
American
RJohnson
2
0
0
0
1
3
Appier
2
0
0
0
0
1
DeMartinez
2
1
1
1
0
0
Rogers
1
1
1
1
0
2
Ontiveros L,0-1
2-3
1
1
1
0
1
DWells
1-3
0
0
0
0
1
Mesa
T—2:40. A—50,920.
1
0
0
0
0
1
Student workers bolster athletic successes
Stew Milne, The Battalion
Sen
whi
ior Cecil Bleiker juggles duties in many sport
le working for A&M Sports Information.
□ The SID employees handle du
ties from TV scripts to game stats.
By Robin Greathouse
The Battalion
For fans of A&M athletics, the game is
done when the final gun sounds or the last out
is made. But the student assistants at the
Texas A&M Sports Information Department
know that plenty of behind-the-scenes work
goes into making athletic events successful.
“You never really think about what ac
tually goes into making the game go
smoothly,” senior student assistant Cecil
Bleiker said.
The Sports Information Department is
the liaison between the Athletic Department
and the media, and handles all interview re
quests for players and coaches.
Stephen Miller, a community health ma
jor, said the SID office can be very hectic,
but everyone at the office has the same ob
jective.
“We’re here to promote the teams,” Miller
said. “Our job is to get our athletic programs
national coverage.”
Bleiker, Miller and other assistants do
many jobs during the different sports events
that are held on campus.
“We work in the press box handing out
statistical information to the media and an
swering any questions,” Bleiker said.
“On the field (or court), we help with side
line security. We also get the injury reports
from the trainers and give them to the media.”
The assistants help to compile statistics
for play-by-play sheets and halftime and fi
nals statistic sheets during games. Working
with television crews when games are tele
vised is another of the assistants’ major re
sponsibilities .
“When we work with people during game
broadcasts, we give them information that
they put on the teleprompter that the an
nouncers read on the air,” Bleiker said.
The responsibilities don’t end when the
sports seasons are over, however. During the
off-season, Bleiker and Miller help to put to
gether media guides that are distributed to
media outlets across the country.
Miller, who is currently working on the
1995 A&M football media guide, said the
student assistants do a great deal of re
search with statistics and past trends, and
have compiled some interesting figures for
the 1995 season.
“After getting statistics from colleges
around the country with top-ranked quarter
backs, we learned that Corey Pullig is the
nation’s winningest playing quarterback,”
Miller said.
The wide range of duties means plenty of
work, but Miller said the rewards of the job
easily make up for it.
“I think this job offers excellent experi
ence,” Miller said. “We have a team that will
be the national champion. Everything at
A&M is first class.”
Footballs start
spells baseballs
downfall
David
Winder
Sportswriter
.2.
T uesday night’s All-Star
game signaled that the
1995 baseball season
is half over. But come July
29, the season might as well
be finished.
In just over two weeks,
the Jacksonville Jaguars
and the Carolina Panthers
will kick off the National
Football League’s exhibi
tion season.
As the pigskin season
begins, fans will start leav
ing baseball, just as base
ball left them last year.
The only reason baseball
is getting the fans back is
there are no other major
sports in season. Most people
are interested in baseball
right now because they are
addicted to sports. Once
something better comes
along, baseball will be left on
the side of the road.
Baseball screwed up this
season by not starting a me
dia blitz to get the fans to
come back. Its “Welcome to
the Show” advertising cam
paign is not exactly making
the fans come out in droves.
The All-Star workout wasn’t
even a sellout.
Baseball is always going
to get back the fans who
know stats like Howie
Krist’s 13-4 record for the
1942 St. Louis Cardinals.
But baseball is losing the
fans who just like to root
for the home team.
Baseball used to be my fa
ther’s favorite sport. Now he
could care less if it existed.
After the basketball sea
son ended, he came close to
canceling his subscription
to the Houston Chronicle
until football season began.
He didn’t want to read any
thing about baseball.
Last year, was the first
time in a while the Hous
ton Astros had a chance to
make the playoffs, and my
dad got caught up in it. But
baseball let him down and
has done nothing yet to
make up for it.
The owners have tried to
win the fans back with pro
motional nights and ticket
giveaways, but all efforts
have failed miserably. Now
it is time for the players to
take over the promotion of
the game.
Frank Thomas and Ken
Griffey, Jr. should start do
ing commercials for base
ball instead of for shoe
companies. Players like
Tony Gwynn and Cal Rip
ken Jr. who have shown
they really love the game
should push the Players’
Association to make its
own media blitz to bring
the fans back.
When the players of the
National Basketball Associ
ation got involved with the
promotion of the game, the
NBA’s popularity took off.
Baseball should follow
basketball’s lead and
get back on track. If not,
they can sit back and enjoy
football season with the
rest of us.
The Battalion
CLASSIFIEDS
WISE
ACM:
To place an ad, phone
845-0569
Italy Spring ‘96 for
Future Teachers!
Study with TAMU in Castiglion Fiorentino at
the TAMU Study Abroad Center in Europe!
Your international experience could be your
students’ first look at the world!
Interested? Please come to an informational
meeting in 154 Bizzell Hall "West on:
Wednesday, July 12 2 pm
Thursday, July 13 2 pm
For more information, contact:
Prof. John Hoyle Prof. Lynn Burlbaw
203 HECC 330 HECC
845-2748 845-6195
Study Abroad Programs • 161 Bizzell Hall West • 845-0544