The Battalion
1:40 4.
1V(R) 1:15 4;
(PC)
triday • October 31, 1997
Coaches, players
eed fan support
FORTS
Assies look to rise again in South
ast Monday, in the pre-dawn haze here on campus,
as I was attempting to blow past the inevitable slow
pokes who hog every sidewalk, I was privy to some
pretty disturbing comments and revelations about our
football program.
“We suck—uur guys don’t
give a crap. I saw some of
them at the Barracuda Bar
and Coupe De Ville’s half an
hour after their plane hit the
ground at Easterwood.”
“ R.C. sucks. He can’t moti
vate and the guys don’t want to
play for him. He says we’ll pass
more, but we don’t have the tal
ent to pass the ball. Our pro-
ctnffwHtor I S ram needS a Char *g e ’ Slocum
sraf j writer | has got to go.”
!H All right, you weakling simps.
Titi You’ve upset me, and now I’m ready to rock. Most, not
om all, but most of you who sit and criticize are idiots who
’ probably should not even be allowed to watch football
because you lack the mental prowess to truly under
stand the game. You sit in the stands bitching and
moaning, or you don’t even care enough to attend the
games. You pretend to be outraged by two question
able performances in an otherwise solid beginning,
yet when the Ags perform and kick a little tail, you say
Kings like “They got lucky, Slocum still has to go.” Do
Len
Callaway
jUi
luralwita:
Newsnwiitte;
tavml.tsv:
eitisingitestf:
Battalion. Fira
g, cal MU
i9. AdwtsijS
s houisaisSi'
5-2678.
Undent SeniK
you fools realize Slocum was a winning head coach
when we were all still pooping our little didies?
| The last time I checked, the football team was
made up of humans, young humans who some-
times make mistakes. Here’s a revelation for you:
They may even repeat the same mistake a time or
Editor ^0 The process is called learning, aging, maturing
itnr and even seasoning. Football is a team sport, and
both coaches and players make up the team.
Coaches and players must share responsibility for
the team’s successes and defeats.
I There are reasons A&M has not been able to com
pete consistently with programs like Nebraska, Notre
Dame and Penn State. Recently, the No.l reason has
been the fact a few years back our program was vi
ciously sabotaged by an alumni in Dallas and a couple
of our own players. The reasons were greed and total
disregard for the traditions and values for which A&M
jck U[) stands. Everything was going along just fine, we were
re sec pee succeeding and having good solid seasons. All of a sud-
ind $17 50! den, the NCAA dropped the hammer. We lost scholar-
srd, Diw ships, TV privileges and the right to play in bowl games.
The next season we won the Southwest Conference but
. 26 s: were stripped of the title due to the probation. The
scholarship issue kept us from signing all of the talent
exam pe needed to have an adequate amount of senior leader-
epaidatto ship now, and the TV sanctions played hell with recruit-
address cl: ing. Slocum didn’t do this. His coaches didn’t do this,
aid Bu:: Some of our players and an alumni took it upon them-
Ives to violate the rules and they got caught.
Getting caught is the important part. Everyone re-
izes indiscretions and backroom antics take place in
college athletics, the key is not to get caught. Now that
we have been caught and punished, it will take a few
ore years until our young players are seasoned vet-
irans and are capable of leading the rest of the team.
Building a strong football program takes a minimum
of five years (one full eligibility cycle) and a lot of luck
id patience.
Some point to our academic requirements and say
we ask too much of our students, and we can’t always
Attract the top names because they are concerned
. about success in the classroom. What a bunch of crap.
^ V If an athlete is too concerned about not being able to
* ■ ' make the grades, then they probably shouldn’t even
be playing for A&M in the first place.
Please see Callaway on Page 4.
DAVE HOUSE/The Battalion
Sophomore receiver Chris Cole makes a catch against KSU.
By Jeff Schmidt
Staff writer
The Oklahoma State Cowboys
may very well be the Cinderella sto
ry of the college football season. Too
bad the clock struck midnight last
Saturday afternoon. The Cowboys
hit a bump in the Big 12 road by los
ing to Missouri in a double-over
time barn-burner.
OSU comes to Kyle Field Satur
day with a share of the Big 12 South
lead. There is a lot at stake for the
Aggies. The Ags need a victory over
the 19th ranked Cowboys to climb
back in the Big 12 race. The Cow
boys, under Head Coach Bob Sim
mons, have been ranked in the Top
25 four straight weeks after not ap
pearing in a national poll since the
final rankings nine years ago.
Last season, the Aggies had a dif
ficult time in Stillwater. OSU led 13-
10 at halftime before the Aggies took
advantage of three turnovers to es
cape with a 38-19 win. Tiki Harde
man scored three touchdowns in
the victory.
Oklahoma State features a su
perb run defense which is ranked
sixth in the country. The defensive
coordinator for the run is Rob
Ryan, son of Buddy Ryan. The bell-
cow on defense is free safety RW
McQuarters. McQuarters also
plays cornerback, leads the con
ference in punt returns and has
two receptions on offense.
Cornerback Kevin Williams, the
conference leader in interceptions,
also is having a great season, as is
linebacker Kenyatta Wright, the
“quarterback” of the defense.
The offense is high-powered, as
evidenced by the 50 points they
scored last weekend. Like A&M,
Oklahoma State uses a two-quar-
terback system. Quarterbacks
Tony Lindsay and Chris Chaloup-
ka both will play, with Lindsay see
ing more time.
The Cowboys also have two
outstanding running backs: Ja-
maal Fobbs and Nathan Simmons.
Fobbs set a school freshman rush
ing record with 217 yards against
Southwestern Louisiana, but it has
been Simmons who has been
turning heads of late. He now leads
OSU in yards-per-game and will
start tomorrow.
Their best offensive weapon,
tight end Alonzo Mayes, will miss
this weekend’s game with a shoul
der sprain. Mayes is easily the best
tight end in America and is consid
ered by many NFL scouts to be the
best prospect at his position.
Against Missouri, Mayes had eight
catches for 126 yards and two
touchdowns. With him out of the
lineup, OSU may struggle with the
forward pass.
But the big question for the
A&M is which Aggies will show up
tomorrow. The Ags manhandled
weaker teams but have lost two
straight to better competition.
More importantly, they have lost
two straight conference games. The
OSU game comes at a bad time,
with the Aggies at a crossroads.
Despite the losses, the players re
main positive, especially junior
Branndon Stewart, who will resume
the starting quarterback role.
“It’s always nice to come back
and play at your place. It seems the
fans are a little more juiced up (for
night games),” Stewart said.
Head Coach R.C. Slocum said the
in-fighting and finger pointing that
comes with losing has not set in.
“I sense a renewed commit
ment,” Slocum said. “I’m pleased
with the attitude of the team. It’s
very important they believe in
each other,”
Soccer set to close
out regular season
7843-1111
By Stephen Boudreau
Staff writer
The sixth-ranked Texas A&M
Soccer Team (15-2) will conclude its
regular season tonight in Ft. Worth
when they battle the Homed Frogs
ofTexas Christian University.
“It’s real important we maintain
the momentum the girls have cre
ated over the last two weeks,” Head
Coach G. Guerrieri said. “We want
to maintain that going into the
conference tournament and keep
ourselves moving forward. I hope
that we’ve learned from past expe
rience that you can’t look past any
body. Right now, the biggest game
of the season is the game on Friday
in Ft. Worth.”
The Aggies outscored the
Homed Frogs 3-1 the last time they
met, in 1995 when the now-de
funct Southwest Conference was
still in existence. A&M has never
lost to TCU, leading the series 4-0.
“The thing about TCU is that
they are a team that’s been
around for a long time, but only
been giving out scholarships in
the last couple of years,” Guerreri
said. “We haven’t played them
since they’ve had scholarship
play. They are a much, much im
proved team. They play a really
attractive, high-possession, ball
control kind of game. A lot of
teams we’ve played in the past
were just a rock’em sock’em kind
of style. So this will be a new and
difficult challenge facing us.”
A&M has won three consecutive
games, including a 5-0 drubbing of
Colorado last Sunday, which gave
the Aggies the Big 12 title.
“We take the season one game
at a time, so I don’t see us over
looking the TCU game at all,” se
nior Diana Rowe said. “They’re
the kind of team that if we don’t
come out and play well, they have
the ability to beat us. We are still
aiming for the big one, and we’re
going to keep working hard.”
For seniors Rowe, Bryn Blalack,
Jessica Mouske and Sonia Ibanez
this game will mark the last regular-
season game of their careers.
“Everything is a little bit more
special this last year, because it
could be the last time you’re doing
certain things with the team,”
Blalack said. “I just want the season
to last as long as possible, because
that’s more time I get to spend with
these guys. We have a blast. It’s def
initely been special and hopefully
we’ll continue to do well.”
Please see Soccer on Page 4.
A&M runners gofor Big 12 title
By Jeff Webb
Staff writer
The Texas A&M Cross Coun
try Teams are gearing up to trav
el to Stillwater, Ok. for the Big 12
Championships this weekend.
The Aggies had one of their best
meets of the year two weeks ago
at the Aggie Invitational in Col
lege Station. Since then, the
teams’ practice schedules have
changed this last week.
“We’ve been taking it easy this
week,” junior Scott Legefeld said.
“Utesday and Thursday are our
hard workouts. This is my fa
vorite time of the year. Every
thing is cut back and I’m not run
ning as much mileage, although
the workouts are faster.”
The Big 12 Championships
are a good way for the team to
tune up for the one that really
counts, the regional meet. With
the number of ranked programs
in the Big 12 this year, the stiff
competition should provide a
good test for the Aggies.
“It’s a conference meet, and
we always want to do well in a
conference meet,” Coach Greg
Hinze said. “Colorado puts 12
scholarships into their cross
country program, and they get
to train at 6,300 feet up, so if they
don’t win the championships,
there is something wrong there.
The focus of our program has
shifted more towards the NCAA
regional because that’s how we
qualify for the NCAAs.”
The women’s side showed
great improvement in the Ag
gie Invitational. The gap be
tween the first and sixth place
finisher for the women was
only two minutes.
“That was inspiring because
we felt we were running as a
team,” sophomore Sandie
Ramsey said. “If we can do that
here, we can do that in big
meets. For us seeing the big
competition, we realize it’s
okay to run fast sometimes. If
you’re prepared, you’re not
afraid of it.”
“The Big 12 is tough on us
and the teams are highly
ranked,” Legefeld said. “We’re
cutting back a little bit, but not
as much as other teams. We’re
really concentrating on the re
gional meet to get to the NCAAs.
The Big 12 meet is just to put a
ring on somebody’s finger.”
With their best showing of
the year on Saturday, those rings,
could belong to the Aggies.
Swimmers ready to take on Kansas
By Jason Whitcomb
Staff writer
The Texas A&M Men’s and
Women’s Swimming and Diving
Teams will open their season to
morrow at 1 p.m. at the Student
Recreation Center. The Aggies
will compete against the Kansas
Jayhawks in what will surely be
an interconference dogfight.
“We are really excited to open
the season against such a strong
team,” Men’s Assistant Coach Jay
Holmes said. “It’s the kind of
meet where we are expecting our
top guys to be on their game and
they are expecting their top guys
to do the same.”
Both the men and women
are coming off strong perfor
mances in the Big 12 Invitation
al last weekend, where they
both managed to finish third in
the team relays.
The men will be led by junior
Jerrod Kappler, who is coming
off a spring where he finished
eighth in the country in the 50-
meter freestyle.
“Jerrod is coming on real
strong,” Holmes said. “He has a
great desire to be the best, and
when he is out there, the other
team knows exactly who he is.”
Please see Kansas on Page 4.
tass
INTERNATIONAL HALLOWEEN PARTY!!!
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ASSOC.
COLOMBIAN STUDENT ASSOC.
ARAB STUDENT ASSOC.
MEXICAN STUDENT ASSOC.
EUROPE CLUB
JAPAN CLUB
DANCE TO MUSIC FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD!!!
(REGGAE, LATIN, ARABIC, DANCE, INDIAN, TECHNO, CALIPSO, SAMBA...)
EVERYONE IS WELCOME!!!
HILTON HOTEL
9 P.M. - ???
l^ ni
}/oii it
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31st
$2 (MEMBERS WITH COSTUMES)
$4 (NON-MEMBERS WITH COSTUMES & MEMBERS WITH NO COSTUMES)
$5 (NON-MEMBERS WITH NO COSTUMES)
Join the MSC
Committee for the Awareness
of Mexican American Culture
for “El Dia de ios Muertos”
WHEN: Monday, November 3, 1997 @ 7pm
WHERE: 301 Rudder
WHY: Because you’ll learn about this traditional celebration and
there’s FREE FOOD and CULTURE POINTS!!!!!
SEE
you
THERE
rsA
(b-
Persons with disabilities please call 845-1515 to inform us of your special
needs. We request notification three (3) working days prior to the event to
enable us to assist you to the best of our abilities.
^Srfv
n§&SK>l3!5r
how do you feel about
ABORTION?
I Round table discussion sponsored by:
[Aggies For Life, 11-11, 5:45, MSC 205
lEvervone Welcome!
Al.l.RRlA'
DAY SPA T L
Sc
WELLNESS CENTER
WITH A WHOLE CAREER AHEAD OF YOU, IT PAYS TO HAVE A GREAT NAME BEHIND YOU.
UPA
Relax and
Rejuvenate with
a Therapeutic
Massage and
European
Cleansing
Facial
822-5756
Grand Opening Gift:
$5.00 discount
Comer of Villa Maria & Cavitt
With a name like Walt Disney World on your resume, your future is
definitely bright. Not only will you earn college recognition or credit,
you'll also be working with one of the most dynamic companies
in the world. And that's experience any college graduate could use.
Representatives will be on campus to answer all your questions about
the Walt Disney World® College Program, where you’ll work, earn
and learn from some of the top management minds in the industry.
We will be interviewing all majors for positions available throughout
our Theme Parks and Resorts, including Attractions, Food & Beverage,
Merchandise, Lifeguarding and more. Plus, this summer, those fluent in
Portuguese, should be sure to ask about special opportunities. So plan
ahead for our visit. Discover a World of Opportunities at Disney.
fOf • Drawing Creativity from Diversity
PRESENTATION DATE: 11/6/97 TIME: 6:00 PM LOCATION: 301 Rudder Tower
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Jennifer Humphries - 409-845-7725
/ww.careermosaic.com/cm/wdw/wdw/.hfml